Agenda item

To consider the report of the Director (Customer and Digital). 

The Director (Customer and Digital) presented a report which informed Members of the current position of the Chorley Council Flood Relief Scheme, including volumes of applications, amounts of monies pending and already paid out.  The report gave an overview of wider flooding issues in the borough and the action taken to address these.

A total of 426 properties in the borough were confirmed as flooded as a result of Storm Eva on 26 December 2015.  Chorley Council’s flood relief scheme was made up of a number of different elements based upon guidance. 

There were other funds and schemes available, including a local discretionary relief fund, the Lancashire Flood Appeal and Property Level Resilience Grants (PLRG).  Details of claims were set out in the report. 

Members noted that the council closed its scheme to new applications on 30 November 2017.  There are currently 28 outstanding applications.  There have been some lengthy delays in work being completed due to the fact that many flood doors and barriers are bespoke and as such have a long lead time for manufacture.

Recent information has indicated that the MHCLG are intending to close the scheme on 31 March 2018 with final payments for reimbursement to the council being made in June 2018.  The council are seeking confirmation that any grants paid out after this time will still be reimbursed.

The report set out totals, including unclaimed grants for properties in Croston where a grant application has not been made by the owner despite a number of reminders being issued.  The council made a significant financial contribution of £1M to the Croston Flood Risk Management Scheme which is vital in reducing the risk of flooding to the community.

The council is endeavouring to secure grant funding which the government has already earmarked for the protection of the community of Croston and has been in correspondence with ministers over a number of months regarding this.

Since the extensive flooding in December, there has been work taking place in a number of specific areas where flooding is a known issue, including The Common (Adlington), Town Lane and Waterhouse Green (Whittle-le-Woods), Hurst Brook (Coppull), Clematis Close (Euxton) and Weldbank Lane (Chorley). 

The Croston Flood Risk Management Scheme is now complete.  This scheme decreases the river level through Croston during a flood event by restricting the amount of water flowing through the new structure and embankment, holding back the water in a flood storage basin upstream.  The defences were put into operation for the first time over the weekend of 21 and 22 October 2017, successfully protecting the residents and the community.

It is expected the likelihood and severity of flooding will be significantly reduced.  There may still be some issues with surface water flooding which will be duly considered and investigated once we have a heavy rainfall event.

The report set out other work the council is undertaking in this area, including the Making Space For Water multi-agency group, input into the Lancashire County Council Section 19 Investigation, Community Resilience and the Chorley Council Flood Plan. 

Decision:

1.         That the position statement for the Flood Relief Scheme is noted.

2.         That the action being taken to address wider flooding issues in the borough is noted.