Have your say on York’s Flood Risk Management Strategy

York floods Sept 2012 bar walls

Working with key partners including the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water, City of York Council has created a draft Local Flood Risk Management strategy which will go out to a six-week consultation from Wednesday 5 November until Wednesday 17 December at www.york.gov.uk/consultations

A consultation questionnaire is available to complete online from this week. Alternatively, paper copies are available from libraries and Explore Centres across York, or the council’s West Offices building. Feedback can also be submitted to FRM@york.gov.uk .

To read the full strategy, FAQs and an information leaflet visit: www.york.gov.uk/floodriskstrategy

The development of the strategy follows severe floods in 2007 across the UK, including York, which affected over 55,000 homes and businesses causing over £3billion worth of damage across the UK.

Hull Road

Hull Road

Following this, the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 (FWMA) was introduced by Government to provide legislation for the management of risks associated with flooding and coastal erosion at a local level. This strategy is part of a series of documents that the authority has been required to produce following this Act.

As the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) for York, this Act provides City of York Council with major new responsibilities and local flood risk management duties.

This includes developing, maintaining, applying and monitoring a strategy for local flood risk management for York.

What this means in practice is that the strategy will help to better understand flood risk from all sources in York, reduce its likelihood and impact on residents and visitors and take the opportunity to improve the city environment.

As an evolving document, it will provide an ongoing comprehensive framework for managing York’s flood risk. As new technical information associated with flood risk management evolves, and real events occur, it will need to change to take this new information into account.

Key within the strategy is a list of proposed measures and estimated costs associated with these including short term and long term measures, such as working with external organisations to help prevent surface water flooding. One way of addressing this is to ensure that planning decisions properly address all aspects of flood risk and that surface water flows are managed and controlled in a sustainable manner.

Identified within this programme are several schemes to improve defences along the River Ouse and River Foss such as upgrades to the Foss Barrier pumps, renovation to flood gates and improvements to existing flood banks.

It is proposed to publish the full strategy in 2015 and it will be fully reviewed in line with the six-year Flood Risk Regulations cycle. It is intended that changes and updates to the individual guidance notes would be agreed and endorsed through the relevant committee, scrutiny or member decision making session.

Any changes or updates to the Policy Framework or Strategic Action Plan would be brought to Cabinet for approval.

Cabinet approved to go out to consultation at a meeting on 9 September. To view a copy of the report visit: http://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=733&MId=8328

Background information on York’s flood defences:

In April 2014, York submitted a bid to the Environment Agency and Defra for funding to improve York’s flood defences and undertake a new study to re-evaluate the flood risks to the city.

Identified within this programme were several schemes to improve defences along the River Ouse and River Foss such as upgrades to the Foss Barrier pumps, renovation to flood gates and improvements to existing flood banks.

City of York Council also bid for and successfully secured millions in funding towards improving one of York’s key arterial routes in September 2013 which will now pave way for much needed flood prevention works, new signalisation and improved access at key junctions.

The council bid for a share of the £170 million government Pinch Point Funding to protect the A19 from any future closure, following an unusual series of flood incidents in 2012 which resulted in the main road closing on three separate occasions. In comparison, it was closed a total of five-days over the previous four-years.

York will receive approximately £2million from the Department for Transport towards the cost of the £4.7m project which will help towards supporting local transport schemes that tackle congestion and support growth.

The council also contributed £1million towards a £4.2million scheme with the Environment Agency to build new flood defences for the Water End area of York, which will reduce flood risk to almost 400 homes and businesses.

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