Agenda item

Consider report by Director Infrastructure and Environment.  (Copy attached.)

         With reference to paragraph 5 of the Minute of 31 January 2019, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Director Infrastructure and Environment seeking approval of the Section 38 Final Reports for the Tweed, Solway and Forth Estuary Local Flood Risk Management Plans (LFRMP), as a true reflection of the progress made during the 6 year Flood Risk Management (FRM) cycle 2016 - 2022 to mitigate flood risk in the Scottish Borders.  The report explained that approval was required to allow for the publication of the Section 38 Final Reports for each Local Flood Risk Management Plan in Scotland by December 2022.  The inception of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 (FRM Act) required the production of Local Flood Risk Management Plans covering each Local Plan District (LPD) in Scotland.  Scottish Borders Council’s area fell within 3 of the 14 Local Plan Districts in Scotland.  These were Forth Estuary LPD, Tweed LPD and Solway LPD.  There were two sets of complementary plans; Flood Risk Management Strategies which were approved by Scottish Ministers and subsequently published by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) on 22 December 2015 and Local Flood Risk Management Plans produced by Lead Authorities and published 22 June 2016.  Scottish Borders Council was the Lead Authority for Tweed Local Plan District.  The Flood Risk Management Strategies and Local Flood Risk Management Plans had been developed through collaborative partnerships between Local Authorities, SEPA and Scottish Water.  The Flood Risk Management Strategies and Local Flood Risk Management Plans provided a framework for co-ordinating actions across catchments to deal with all sources of flooding.  Those plans ensured long term planning around flooding and under Section 41(2) of the FRM Act, Scottish Ministers must take them into account when allocating funding.  This approach helped target investment to areas where there was the greatest risk of flooding and where communities could receive the greatest benefit.  The Local Flood Risk Management Plans took the objectives and actions identified in the Flood Risk Management Strategies and set out who would be responsible for delivering the action, how the action would be funded, a timetable for when the action would be delivered and how it would be co-ordinated within the first FRM Cycle 2016 - 2022.  Section 38 of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 required that the Lead Authority of each Local Plan District review and publish a Final Report on the progress made in implementing the measures to mitigate flood risk detailed in the relevant Local Flood Risk Management Plan during the first FRM Cycle 2016 - 2022.  There was now a need to obtain the Council’s approval of the Section 38 Final Reports for the Tweed, Solway and Forth Estuary Local Flood Risk Management Plan for national publication by December 2022. Mr Hedley, Chief Roads Officer, and Mr Morrison, Flood and Coastal Management Team Leader, were present at the meeting and answered Members’ questions.  Members noted the good work to date but that there were still areas where work needed to be done

         DECISION

         AGREED to approve the:-

          (a)     S38 Final Report for the Tweed Local Flood Risk Management Plan;

(b)     S38 Final Report for the Solway Local Flood Risk Management Plan; and

(c)     S38 Final Report for the Forth Estuary Local Flood Risk Management Plan.