East Cornwall Catchment Flood Management Plan Summary Report June 2012 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 Manley House Kestrel Way Exeter EX2 7LQ 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. June 2012 Introduction I am pleased to introduce our summary of the East Cornwall Catchment Flood Management Plan (CFMP). This CFMP gives an overview of the flood risk in the East Cornwall catchment and sets out our preferred plan for sustainable flood risk management over the next 50 to 100 years. The East Cornwall CFMP is one of 77 CFMPs for England Flood risk affects people and property across the East and Wales. Through the CFMPs, we have assessed Cornwall catchment, but particularly in the areas of inland flood risk across all of England and Wales for the Bude, Bodmin, Looe, Lostwithiel, Wadebridge, and first time. The CFMP considers all types of inland Polperro. Various flood events have demonstrated that flooding, from rivers, ground water, surface water and while the numbers of properties at risk across East tidal flooding, but not flooding directly from the sea Cornwall may be relatively low compared with other (coastal flooding), which is covered by Shoreline areas of the country, the risk to life, and community Management Plans (SMPs). Our coverage of surface disruption caused by flooding can be significant. and ground water 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 the policies which will deliver sustainable flood risk most effective way to manage flood risk in the future. management for the long term. This is essential if we We have worked with others including: Cornwall are to make the right investment decisions for the Council, Natural England, South West Water and the future and to help prepare ourselves effectively for the National Farmers Union to develop this plan. impact of climate change. We will use CFMPs to help us This is a summary of the main CFMP document, if target our limited resources where the risks are youneed to see the full document an electronic version greatest. can be obtained by emailing This CFMP identifies flood risk management policies to [email protected] assist all key decision makers in the catchment. It was or alternatively paper copies can be viewed at any of produced through a wide consultation and appraisal our offices in South West Region. process, however it is only the first step towards an integrated approach to Flood Risk Management. As we 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. Richard Cresswell South West Regional Director Environment Agency East Cornwall 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 Bodmin Moor sub-area 12 2 Bude and Stratton sub-area 14 3 Camel Tidal sub-area 15 4 South Coast Tidal sub-area 16 5 North Coast sub-area 18 6 Camel Valley sub-area 20 7 Fowey and Seaton Valleys sub-area 22 8 Gannel and Mawgan Vale sub-area 23 9 Welcombe and Coombe Valleys sub-area 24 Map of CFMP policies 25 2 Environment Agency East Cornwall Catchment Flood Management Plan The purpose of a CFMP in managing flood risk CFMPs help us to understand the • Internal Drainage Boards (IDB), CFMPs aim to promote more scale and extent of flooding now and water companies and other sustainable approaches to in the future, and set policies for utilities to help plan their managing flood risk. The policies managing flood risk within the activities in the wider context of identified in the CFMP will be catchment. CFMPs should be used to the catchment; delivered through a combination of inform planning and decision different approaches. Together with • transportation planners; making by key stakeholders such as: our partners, we will implement • land owners, farmers and land these approaches through a range • the Environment Agency, who will managers that manage and of delivery plans, projects and use the plan to guide decisions operate land for agriculture, actions. on investment in further plans, conservation and amenity projects or actions; The relationship between the CFMP, purposes; delivery plans, strategies, projects • Regional Assemblies and local • the public and businesses to and actions is shown in Figure 1. authorities who can use the plan enhance their understanding of to inform spatial planning flood risk and how it will be activities and emergency managed. 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 and • Make sure our spending delivers the best restore floodplains. possible outcomes. • Prepare for and manage floods (including local • Focus on risk based targets, for example numbers Flood Warning plans). 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 identify the • Surface water management plans. need and encourage their development. Environment Agency East Cornwall Catchment Flood Management Plan 3 Catchment overview The East Cornwall CFMP area lies Camel and the River Fowey both There are six Areas of Outstanding near the south-westerly tip of the UK spring. The remainder of the CFMP Natural Beauty (AONB), eight Special mainland. The CFMP area is made catchment is made up of a number of Areas of Conservation (SAC), two up of two relatively large catchments, discrete catchments, many of which National Nature Reserves, 46 Sites of the River Fowey and the River Camel, are small and steep. Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and plus a large number of smaller river 500 Scheduled Monuments. There are two underlying classes of catchments. This includes the two geology in the area. The south and major estuaries of the Fowey and north of the area are dominated by Camel. The area is environmentally Devonian slates. To the east Bodmin rich with many important Moor is mainly granites that have environmental locations. The area intruded into the earlier slates. The has a rich mining heritage with a presence of granite at the surface number of locations in the area leads to a high percentage of surface awarded World Heritage Site status. run-off. This in combination with the The East Cornwall CFMP covers an steep gradient of tributaries draining areas of some 1,400 square off the moor, such as the Warleggan kilometres (540 square miles). The River and St Neot River, leads to a topography of the CFMP catchment is rapid (or "flashy") response to varied. The main area of high ground rainfall in the upper reaches and on is Bodmin Moor, where the River the north coast. The annual rainfall ranges from more than 1,800mm (70in) over Bodmin Moor to less than 850mm (33in) on the coast. The England and Wales average is 920mm (36in). The catchment is predominantly grassland, arable, horticultural, and woodland. Only five per cent is urbanised. The principal urban centres are Newquay, Liskeard, Bodmin, Bude and Wadebridge. 4 Environment Agency East Cornwall Catchment Flood Management Plan Map 1. Location and extent of the East Cornwall CFMP area Legend East Cornwall CFMP Urban areas Main rivers Bude Railway Motorway Launceston Camelford Polzeath N Wadebridge Bodmin Liskeard Newquay Lostwithiel St Austell 0 4 8 12 16 Kilometres Fowey © Crown Copyright. Environment Agency 100026380. ➜ Cows retreat to higher ground next to the River Camel at Slaughterbridge near Camelford in August 2004 Environment Agency East Cornwall Catchment Flood Management Plan 5 Current and future flood risk Overview of the current flood risk What is at risk? Flood risk has two components: the • In August 2004, Boscastle and The main risks to people, property chance (probability) of a particular the surrounding area was hit by and the environment across the flood and the impact (or serious flooding caused by an catchment are from the rivers and consequence) that the flood would extremely rare rain storm. Sixty the tide. Currently there are around have if it happened. The probability properties were flooded and the 1,200 residential and commercial of a flood relates to the likelihood of risk to life was severe. A major properties at risk from a 1% annual a flood of that size occurring within a emergency response was initiated probability flood, not taking into one year period. It is expressed as a and no lives were lost. account current flood defences. percentage. For example, a 1% flood Around 2200 people are at risk in the • The October 2004 flood event has a 1% chance or 0.01 probability main communities of East Cornwall.