Malvern Hills District Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee Agenda Tuesday, 19th February, 2008 2.00 pm Committee Room, The Council House, Avenue Road, Malvern, WR14 3AF ACCESS TO DECISION-MAKING INFORMATION The public and the press have a right to: • attend all Council, Committee and other public meetings unless the meeting would disclose “confidential information” or “exempt information” (this will be indicated on the agenda) • inspect agendas and reports for public meetings at least five working days before the meeting. Agendas and reports can be viewed on our website at: www.malvernhills.gov.uk and copies will also be available at meetings • inspect minutes for up to six years following a meeting. Minutes can be viewed on our website at: www.malvernhills.gov.uk • inspect background papers used in the preparation of reports for up to 4 years following a meeting. 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These details can be found on our website at: www.malvernhills.gov.uk • inspect a list of powers which the Council or its Committees has delegated to its officers More detailed information regarding the rights of citizens and how the Council operates can be found in the Council’s Constitution, which can be viewed on our website at: www.malvernhills.gov.uk or at: Malvern Customer Service Centre or: Tenbury Area Office The Library Tenbury Library Graham Road 24a Teme Street Malvern Tenbury Wells WR14 2HU WR15 8AA If you require this in an alternative format i.e. by e-mail, on disc, in large print or Braille please contact Democratic Services on 01684 862449 or minicom 01684 862186 or by email [email protected] If you have any special requirements in order to attend a meeting e.g. signing facilities, please contact Democratic Services. Calls are welcome via Typetalk, please prefix our telephone number with 18001. Overview and Scrutiny Committee Tuesday, 19th February, 2008, 2.00 pm Committee Room, The Council House, Avenue Road, Malvern, WR14 3AF Members: T.A.L. Wells (Chairman), M. R. Morgan (Vice-Chair), Mrs B. J. Behan, J. Smith, R.J. Sutton, M. D. G. Soley and J. Campbell. Agenda 1. Apologies 2. Declarations of Personal or Prejudicial Interests 3. Confirmation of Minutes from Previous Meeting (Pages 1 - 2) 4. Chairman's Announcements 5. Public Participation A maximum of 30 minutes has been set aside at the beginning of the meeting for members of the public to ask questions, make a statement or present a petition. Any issue that relates to the economic, social or environmental well-being of the community can be raised and 5 minutes per person is allowed. 6. Scrutiny of Revenue and Capital Budgets 2008 - 09 (Pages 3 - 30) Committee to scrutinise detailed Revenue and Capital Budget proposals 2008 – 09. Heads of Service, Portfolio Holders, Leader and Deputy Leader have all received an invitation to attend the meeting (Apologies received from Portfolio Holder for Customer Focus). Findings and Recommendations arising from this meeting to be reported by Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny Committee to Executive Committee on 19 th February 2008. 7. Review of the District Council's Response to the Summer (Pages 31 - 78) Floods 2007 In order to learn lessons into how the District Council responded to the floods during the summer of 2007, Executive Committee (31 st July 2007) requested Overview and Scrutiny to conduct a Review. Attached are the Findings and Recommendations of the Task and Finish Group established to conduct the Review. Recommendations to be reported to Executive Committee 19 th February 2008 by Chairman of Task and Finish Group. Page 31 Agenda Item 7 Review of the District Council’s Response to Flooding Summer 2007 Overview and Scrutiny - Flooding Task and Finish Group February 2008 Page 32 Contents Page No. Acknowledgements 33 Introduction/Background 33 Recommendations 34 Conclusion 36 Appendices: Detailed Findings – Appendix 1 37 Task & Finish Working Groups Terms of 45 Reference – Appendix 2 Analysis of Sandbag Alternative - 47 Appendix 3 Extract from Pitt Report – Appendix 4 49 Questionnaire sent to Parish/Town 57 Councils – Appendix 5 Analysis of Returned completed 61 Questionnaires – Appendix 6 Page 33 Flooding Task and Finish Group Acknowledgements The Committee would like to thank the Parish & Town Councils who took the time to complete and return the questionnaires sent out. This information provided a valuable insight into how the District Council’s response was received District wide, and has led to many of this Task & Finish Group’s recommendations. I would also like to pay thanks to Mary Dhonoe, Chief Executive of the National Flood Forum, who met with us and passed on information from a national perspective, regarding response to the floods. Finally I would like to thank all officers and Councillors who have helped with this review. I would like to pay special thanks to those Members who made up this first Task and Finish Group, including those who were not Members of Overview and Scrutiny Commitee, who worked tirelessly in compiling the evidence which forms the basis of this Review. Introduction/Background Members will recall the devastating floods of June/July 2007 during which both flash (pluvial) and river (fluvial) flooding affected our District. Rest Centres were established in areas worst affected. Properties and infrastructure within the District suffered damage and a Flood Relief Grant Scheme was set up to help those affected – both domestic properties and businesses. In order to learn lessons into how the Council responded, Executive Committee (31 st July 2007) requested Overview and Scrutiny to review the District Council’s response to the floods. Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its meeting of 21 st August 2007 resolved that a Task and Finish Group be set up to investigate the Council’s approach to the June/July floods, and to report back to Executive Committee. The Flooding Task and Finish Group comprised 6 Members: Councillors M.R. Morgan (Chairman), Mrs B.J. Behan, M.R. Biddle, D.G.C. Hull, R.J. Sutton and J.B. Waring . Process Followed The Flooding Task and Finish Group, at its first meeting on 10 th October 2007, agreed to establish a number of two-member working groups to look at various aspects of the Council’s response to the June/July flooding. Details of the groups and an outline of the areas that they were to look at are set out below: The Working Groups were tasked to gather evidence and report back to the Task and Finish Group. The six Working Groups are listed below and their terms of reference can be found at appendix 2: • Protection of Buildings Against Flooding - J Waring and D Hull • Rest Centres/Accommodations - M Morgan and B Behan • Ditches and Watercourses – M Biddle and R Sutton Page 3 Page 34 Flooding Task and Finish Group • Communication – J Waring and M Biddle • Recovery – R Sutton and M Morgan • Compilation of Questionnaire and Analysis of Results– B Behan and R Sutton, ably supported by Democratic Services. In addition, the Task and Finish Group met with Mary Dhonoe, Chief Executive of the National Flood Forum, where she provided information from a national perspective, in relation to the Floods of June/July 2007. Resulting from the questionnaire exercise, the Task and Finish Group also met with Members of Leigh and Bransford Parish Council and the Clerk to Longdon Parish Council, at their request, to hear their concerns. These have been taken into consideration when formulating the recommendations. Findings of the Working Groups, leading to the Recommendations set out below, are detailed in Appendix 1 to this Report. Recommendations: Protection of Buildings Against Flooding (i) Sufficient evidence has emerged that there are viable alternatives to sand bags which may be more efficient whilst being more cost effective. These alternative solutions should be investigated further in terms of efficiency (value for money) and effectiveness. (ii) The storage and distribution of flood prevention measures should be reviewed, including setting up formal arrangements for Depot Staff to provide assistance in the case of an emergency. (iii) More communication should take place with residents in flood affected areas on what measures they can take to protect their property against flooding, including highlighting the arguments of Resilience vs Resistance. Communication During an Emergency (iv) There should be a central communication point established and contact information provided in affected areas. This could also provide information to schools and other organizations regarding risks and road closures. (v) Further work should be done to identify those areas prone to flooding and arrange to have road signs erected to provide better warning. (vi) Consideration should be given to the provision of a small number of off-road vehicles to assist with mobility in the early stages of a major flood. This would involve only modest additional cost if included at the time of vehicle replacement. (vii) The County Council/ Highways Agency should be requested to consider the provision of an emergency access route from the M50 to the West of The River Severn. Page 4 Page 35 Flooding Task and Finish Group Flood Prevention (viii) More information/publicity should be provided to occupiers and landowners on Riparian responsibilities – i.e. clearing blockages that can cause flooding. (ix) Drains and culverts require routine (systematic) maintenance. MHDC currently employs one Land Drainage Officer who is also required to undertake other duties. Consideration should be given to the possibility of increasing capacity associated with this function by employing additional resources to carry out drain and culvert maintenance throughout the District.