Councillors to probe Draft Flood Risk Management Plan consultation summary & funding update

Gully cleaning, highway maintenance and sewerage flooding may seem obvious parts of Wrexham’s flood risk work, and was referenced by many in a recent consultation, however it appears many elements are not under council control.

Councillors are set to probe a draft plan on Wednesday, that includes a summary of recent consultation responses.

The Draft Flood Risk Management Plan has undergone a consultation process, the responses, comprising 74 in total, were predominantly from individuals (97.3%), with only 2 coming from organisations, both of which were departments within Wrexham County Borough Council.

The geographical representation of responses was diverse, including individuals from various communities within Wrexham, especially those identified with an elevated flood risk. Notably, two responses were received from individuals residing outside Wrexham.

One key aspect addressed in the feedback was the understanding of the plan’s focus on flood risk identification rather than activities like highways maintenance or gully cleaning. Most respondents grasped this distinction, although the council say that raising awareness about the limited role in gully maintenance is necessary, “Whilst the Flood and Water Management Team does acknowledge that cleaning gullies does protect properties from surface water flooding, this does not form a part of our service unless it is to react to a blocked gullies that are the direct cause of flooding to property. Work will be carried out in the future to raise awareness of this and promote the “Report It” function on the website.”

Respondents largely agreed that the draft plan effectively highlighted the most significant flood risk issues in Wrexham, with exceptions citing concerns like gulley maintenance and sewerage flooding. This lack of understanding, and therefore questionable input to the consultation is addressed further, “…gulley maintenance and sewerage flooding were a key issue. The latter is not something that is within the remit of Wrexham County Borough Council to address, although the team will continue to pressure Dwr Cymru Welsh Water to address these issues where needed. ”

The survey included a ‘free text box’ section where respondents could express their highest priorities for flood risk management. The key focus areas included collaboration with the Planning Department to avoid development in flood-prone areas, ensuring sensible development with adequate drainage, and prioritising landscape and drainage resilience to climate change. Natural Flood Management (NFM) through the restoration of storage ponds and catchment health also garnered attention.

Again areas suggested by respondents were ruled out of scope, “A lot of focus was also placed on the maintenance of highways drainage, culverts, roadside ditches and watercourses. The council does not automatically hold the maintenance responsibility over the last three of these and so it would not be prudent to include these in the council’s strategy for managing flood risk as it is outside of our control. ”

Respondents found the draft plan fairly easy to understand, but some suggested it was too long or dense. To address this, plans include creating a summary document and webpage for better public accessibility.

There was a near-even split on whether additional measures should be included in the plan, with suggestions ranging from tree planting and pond creation to better collaboration with planning authorities. Respondents also highlighted the importance of community involvement and working with flood wardens to mitigate flood risk.

The survey’s final section invited respondents to consider how they, as individuals or organizations, could support the plan’s objectives. While some expressed limitations in addressing individual property flooding, others indicated involvement in community groups or a willingness to set up such groups with council assistance.

The Flood and Water Management team added, ” We feel that the plan has been well received, but it is clear that the work that we do over the lifetime of the plan needs to extend into communities with the aim of better involving the people who already are affected by flooding or will be affected as our climate changes. ”

With council budgets very much in the spotlight, the report also notes, “In recent months, it has been announced by the Welsh Government that the FCERM Revenue Grant of £225,000.00 will no longer be granted to Councils. Instead, the £225,000.00 will be added to the Revenue Support Grant (RSG) which the Council receives on an annual basis. To address this, the Flood and Water Management Team felt that it was important to outline how this money is spent on flooding related duties and so a section titled Funding has been added into the report.”

The new section reads:

Funding for Flood Risk Management
Funding for flood risk management in Wrexham CBC was previously provided by the Flood and
Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) Revenue Grant. This grant was valued at
£225,000.00 during 2023/24 and covered the duties of Wrexham CBC under the Flood and Water
Management Act 2010. However, from the financial year beginning in 2024, this grant is no longer
available and the money has been transferred into the Revenue Support Grant (RSG) which the
council receives on an annual basis. Whilst it is uncertain if the same level of funding will be
maintained, an outline of how this is spent can be found in Table 5.
Wrexham CBC will still be able to obtain additional funding through the FCERM Small-Scale Grant
and the FCERM Capital Grant. These grants are only able to cover the costs of specific projects
which directly alleviate flooding to residential properties. In addition, the FWMT will seek to obtain
any additional grants that become available to cover projects that might not otherwise be delivered
and take advantage of partnership working where part, or all, of the cost will be covered by
external organisations.

The Homes and Environment Scrutiny Committee will meet on Wednesday to consider the report.