River Wyre Catchment Flood Management Plan Summary Report December 2009 Managing Flood Risk We Are the Environment Agency
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River Wyre Catchment Flood Management Plan Summary Report December 2009 managing flood risk We are the Environment Agency. It’s our job to look after your environment and make it a better place – for you, and for future generations. Your environment is the air you breathe, the water you drink and the ground you walk on. Working with business, Government and society as a whole, we are making your environment cleaner and healthier. The Environment Agency. Out there, making your environment a better place. Published by: Environment Agency Richard Fairclough House Knutsford Road Warrington WA4 1HT Tel: 0870 8506506 Email: [email protected] www.environment-agency.gov.uk © Environment Agency All rights reserved. This document may be reproduced with prior permission of the Environment Agency. December 2009 Introduction I am pleased to introduce our summary of the River Wyre Catchment Flood Management Plan (CFMP). This CFMP gives an overview of the flood risk in the River Wyre catchment and sets out our preferred plan for sustainable flood risk management over the next 50 to 100 years. The River Wyre CFMP is one of 77 CFMPs for England Approximately 7,600 residential and commercial and Wales. Through the CFMPs, we have assessed properties are at a 1% annual risk of fluvial flooding inland flood risk across all of England and Wales for (from rivers) within the catchment; 90% of which are the first time. The CFMP considers all types of inland concentrated in the towns of Fleetwood, Cleveleys, flooding, from rivers, groundwater, surface water Poulton-le Fylde and Thornton. In the future, it is and tidal flooding, but not flooding directly from the estimated that over 9000 properties will be at risk from sea (coastal flooding), which is covered by Shoreline a 1% fluvial event after taking into account climate Management Plans (SMPs). Our coverage of surface change. and groundwater is however limited due to a lack of We cannot reduce flood risk on our own, we will available information. therefore work closely with all our partners to improve The role of CFMPs is to establish flood risk management the co-ordination of flood risk activities and agree policies which will deliver sustainable flood risk the most effective way to management flood risk in management for the long term. This is essential if we the future. To develop this plan and ensure social, are to make the right investment decisions for the economic and environmental issues were taken future and to help prepare ourselves effectively for into account we worked with, and consulted many the impact of climate change. We will use CFMPs to organisations. These include local authorities, United help us target our limited resources where the risks Utilities, DEFRA, Natural England, and Lancashire are greatest. Wildlife Trust. This CFMP identifies flood risk management policies to This is a summary of the main CFMP document, if you assist all key decision makers in the catchment. It was need to see the full document an electronic version produced through a wide consultation and appraisal can be obtained by emailing enquiries@environment- process, however it is only the first step towards an agency.gov.uk or alternatively paper copies can be integrated approach to Flood Risk Management. As we viewed at any of our offices in North West Region. all work together to achieve our objectives, we must monitor and listen to each others progress, discuss what has been achieved and consider where we may need to review parts of the CFMP. The Wyre is steep and rural in its upper catchment with rapid runoff. The Lower Wyre is at a low elevation, Tony Dean urbanised and sometimes at or below sea level. Regional Director Environment Agency River Wyre Catchment Flood Management Plan 1 Contents The purpose of a CFMP in managing flood risk 3 Catchment overview 4 Current and future flood risk 6 Future direction for flood risk management 10 Sub-areas 1 Upper Wyre 12 2 Middle Wyre and Flood Basins 14 3 Woodplumpton 16 4 Lower Wyre 17 5 Wyre Urban 18 6 Wyre Rural 19 Map of CFMP policies 20 2 Environment Agency River Wyre Catchment Flood Management Plan The purpose of a CFMP in managing flood risk CFMPs help us to understand the • Internal Drainage Board, water CFMPs aim to promote more scale and extent of flooding now companies and other utilities to sustainable approaches to managing and in the future, and set policies help plan their activities in the flood risk. The policies identified in for managing flood risk within the wider context of the catchment. the CFMP will be delivered through a catchment. CFMPs should be used combination of different approaches. • Transportation planners. to inform planning and decision Together with our partners, we making by key stakeholders such as: • Landowners, farmers and will implement these approaches land managers who manage through a range of delivery plans, • The Environment Agency, who will and operate land for projects and actions. use the plan to guide decisions agriculture, conservation on investment in further plans, The relationship between the CFMP, and amenity purposes. projects or actions. delivery plans, strategies, projects • The public and businesses to and actions is shown in figure 1. • Regional planning bodies and enhance their understanding local authorities who can use of flood risk and how it will the plan to inform spatial be managed. planning activities and emergency planning. Figure 1 The relationship between CFMPs, delivery plans, projects and actions Policy planning • CFMPs and Shoreline Management Plans. • Action plans define requirement for delivery plans, projects and actions. Policy delivery plans (see note) Projects and actions • Influence spatial planning to reduce risk • Make sure our spending delivers the best and restore floodplains. possible outcomes. • Prepare for and manage floods • Focus on risk based targets, for example (including local Flood Warning plans). numbers of households at risk. • Managing assets. • Water level management plans. • Land management and habitat creation. Note: Some plans may not be led by us – we may • Surface water management plans. identify the need and encourage their development. Environment Agency River Wyre Catchment Flood Management Plan 3 Catchment overview It is useful to draw out some reaching the estuary. In addition, the Estuary and Morecambe Bay general characteristics that are the Catterall and Garstang flood which has international, European most important in our management alleviation basins, constructed and national environmental of flood risk. The River Wyre in the 1980s, protect properties designations. The CFMP takes catchment area extends from the in Garstang, Catterall and St. account of opportunities and high moorland of the Forest of Michaels-on-the-Wyre. constraints for future flood risk Bowland fells in the upper, eastern management from improved Within the Wyre catchment, part of the catchment to the lower environmental management. urban development accounts lying central area and flat plains for approximately 10% of land of the Fylde peninsular found use. The greatest concentration adjacent to the Wyre estuary. The of properties (more than 90%) is upper tributaries of the Wyre are in the west of the Wyre estuary, steep, resulting in a rapid runoff extending from the northern part response following rainfall. The of the coastal resort of Blackpool watercourses within the Lower Wyre almost continuously through to the catchment are at a low elevation port of Fleetwood, and includes the and sometimes at or below sea towns of Poulton-le-Fylde, Thornton, level. Rainfall over these tributaries and Cleveleys. Outside of this main often has difficulty in draining away, centre of urbanisation, there is the leading to ponding of surface water, market town of Garstang, and the which is exacerbated by the urban villages of Catterall, St Michaels nature of these catchments. and Great Eccleston in the middle The majority of the middle of the catchment. However, as the and lower reaches of the Wyre majority of the catchment is rural, it catchment have been managed for is predominantly dotted with small mixed agricultural uses, and as a villages, hamlets, and isolated result a large network of modified farm dwellings. There are currently watercourses and embanked approximately 7,600 properties rivers has been created to support across the catchment at risk from agricultural production. In the past, river flooding. Our approach to rivers have also been modified at management in these high risk urban locations to convey water locations is focussed around more efficiently, and this has improvements in existing flood risk been done through artificial and management, development control, straightened river channels. Flood flood warning and flood resilience. defences are typically raised earth The Wyre CFMP area has a embankments protecting the main particularly high environmental and urban areas and agricultural land at landscape value, reflected in its two risk of flooding. Pumping stations main designations: Bowland Fells within the lower reaches of the Wyre Special Protection Area and Area of also protect properties at risk when Outstanding Natural Beauty, and high tide levels prevent river flows 4 Environment Agency River Wyre Catchment Flood Management Plan Map 1 Main features Garstang Flood Basin in operation Environment Agency River Wyre Catchment Flood Management Plan 5 Current and future flood risk Overview of the current flood risk Flood risk has two components: help alleviate future flooding. there are relatively few records of the chance (probability) of a Since their construction, there properties flooding. particular flood and the impact (or have been several flood events, • Sewer flooding has been consequence) that the flood would most notably in 1995 and recorded in the urban areas have if it happened. The probability 2000. However, the basins stretching from Blackpool of a flood relates to the likelihood of prevented major flooding to northwards to Fleetwood, and a flood of that size occurring within property.