Agenda item

This report provides an update regarding progress on the York Five Year Flood Plan, including work carried out by the Environment Agency, since the last update in March 2018.

Resolved:  (i)      That the report, and the further information presented at the session by the Environment Agency (EA), be noted.

                   (ii)      That the operation of the Wellington Row Community Hub be welcomed.

                   (iii)     That the EA be requested to provide a response to questions on the approach to planning for the minutes of this meeting, with further details for the next quarterly update in September.

                   (iv)    That the flood alleviation scheme website must detail the consultation that has taken place to show how the public has been engaged, and the public record of answers to questions.  Residents should have the opportunity to comment and to see how this is recorded.

                   (v)     That, going forward, an updated document of the forward plan for the next six months should be provided, showing the progress that has been made and the means by which future work will be carried out, with a tracking of steps that have been taken.

                   (vi)    That officers be requested to provide regular updates on the outcomes of the City of York Council Resilience Officer post.

                   (vi)    That thanks be recorded to officers and other agencies for the Ready for Anything event at West Offices on 17 March, and to Janet Thompson from York CVS for her work with the project.

Reason:     To confirm that the Executive Member is aware of the current position regarding progress on the 5 Year Flood Plan, and to ensure that residents are also kept properly informed of progress and involved in consultation on works that may affect them.

The Executive Member considered a report which provided an update on progress against the York 5 Year Flood Plan. 

Annex 1 to the report detailed work carried out by the Environment Agency (EA) since the last update to the Executive Member on 5 March.  This had included:

·        Completion of ground investigation for the River Ouse flood cells, with work on the River Foss cells due to begin in July;

·        A review of the approach to the planning process and whether to use permitted development rights at some locations;

·        Continuing engagement with residents via the Hub on Wellington Row, a quarterly newsletter and activities for residents within individual flood cells, as detailed in the annex;

·        ‘Going live’ with the York flood alleviation scheme web pages, hosted on Citizen Space.

An officer from the EA was in attendance to present the report, along with the Council’s Flood Risk & Asset Manager.  Officers responded to a series of questions from the Executive Member and the Ward Members present at the meeting, the emphasis being on public engagement.  It was confirmed that:

·        Use of permitted development rights would streamline the planning process, helping to meet the timescale for the Plan;

·        Details of how the £45m allocated funding was being spent across the flood cells could be brought to the next session;

·        Public consultation on additional flood defence options in cells F8, F10 and F11 would take place in July;

·        Officers would accept suggestions for informing users of New Walk more generally of proposals for that area;

·        Further work was needed on proposals in areas such as Haxby and Wigginton; officers were happy to attend ward meetings to explain the position to residents of these areas.

·        Construction of upstream storage on the River Foss was expected to begin in 2019/20.

The Executive Member mentioned that an update was needed on the outcome of additional resources allocated to gulley cleaning (as considered at the Decision Session on 4 December 2017).

Resolved:  (i)      That the report, and the further information presented at the session by the Environment Agency (EA), be noted.

                   (ii)      That the operation of the Wellington Row Community Hub be welcomed.

                   (iii)     That the EA be requested to provide a response to questions on the approach to planning for the minutes of this meeting*, with further details for the next quarterly update in September.

                   (iv)    That the flood alleviation scheme website must detail the consultation that has taken place to show how the public has been engaged, and the public record of answers to questions.  Residents should have the opportunity to comment and to see how this is recorded.

                   (v)     That, going forward, an updated document of the forward plan of consultation for the next six months should be provided, showing the progress that has been made and the means by which future work will be carried out, with a tracking of steps that have been taken.

                   (vi)    That officers be requested to provide regular updates on the outcomes of the City of York Council Resilience Officer post.

                   (vii)    That thanks be recorded to officers and other agencies for the Ready for Anything event at West Offices on 17 March, and to Janet Thompson from York CVS for her work with the project.

Reason:     To confirm that the Executive Member is aware of the current position regarding progress on the 5 Year Flood Plan, and to ensure that residents are also kept properly informed of progress and involved in consultation on works that may affect them.

*Note:  This response has since been published as a supplement to the agenda for this meeting.