A call to strengthen flood preparedness and response across Cambridgeshire has been supported at Cambridgeshire County Council’s Full Council meeting yesterday (Tuesday, 18 March).
Whilst the County Council is Lead Local Flood Authority, during a flood event the response is a multi-agency approach. The district and city councils, the Environment Agency, Anglian Water, Internal Drainage Boards and Community Flood Groups all have a vital role to play.
The motion by Councillor Alex Bulat, welcomed the government’s new Floods Resilience Taskforce and is calling for a new communications strategy which will provide residents with improved guidance on flood prevention and response.
“The amount of rainfall we are experiencing in Cambridgeshire is gradually increasing, and residents are not always well informed on what actions they can take and the respective responsibility of each authority” Cllr Bulat said.
“Like many councillors, I’ve spoken to residents who have experienced flooding themselves, and they asked what can be done better at a county council level, on flood mitigation. I have also spoken to people who luckily haven’t had that experience, but flooding is on their mind, as an issue that concerns them.”
Another key element will include the development of a dedicated online flood risk resource, offering clear advice for householders, businesses, landowners, and community groups. As part of the motion, the council will also identify flood-prone areas that do not currently have community flood action groups and will provide support to establish these essential networks to enhance local resilience.
Additionally, there was a call for the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Floods Minister, highlighting the flood risk challenges in Cambridgeshire. The letter will call for increased investment in watercourse management infrastructure and urge reforms to the Environment Agency’s funding process, to ensure flood alleviation projects are more cost-effective and accessible.
There was an amendment proposed by Councillor Sharp and accepted by Councillor Bulat at the meeting as an alteration, which noted that four District Councils within Cambridgeshire have Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) within their area, where the District Councils are having to pay considerable levies charged by IDBs, whilst receiving a considerably lower grant from Government. This places a considerable financial burden on those councils.
It was requested that the Chief Executive include in his letter a request to change to the system of funding IDBs, which causes undue pressure on the Council Tax for the county’s residents.
The altered motion was passed unanimously.
Full Council was live streamed on our YouTube channel and the papers are available on our website.
