Agenda item

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 4th November, it had considered a report providing an update on significant flooding events which had occurred during the second half of the year which, on two occasions, had led to significant out-of-sewer flooding, resulting in extensive sewage contamination of residential streets.

            The Head of Environmental Health informed the Members that the report had emphasised the importance of establishing a multi-agency approach to develop plans to minimise the risk of flooding in the City and had highlighted, in particular, the work which had been undertaken by RPS Consulting Engineers, to map the main flooding hotspots in the City and to identify short and long-term preventative measures which could be put in place.  She reported that this work had now been completed and that the findings had been forwarded to the Rivers Agency which acted as the “competent authority” for the purposes of implementing the requirements of the European Floods Directive.  The findings had been used also as a basis for discussions with other agencies with responsibility for flooding responses, such as Northern Ireland Water and the Roads Service, both of which had been provided with maps highlighting the various flooding hotspots in the City.  The maps had been used to assist the Council’s Emergency Team to identify hotspots where multi-agency co-ordination was required in order to reduce the risk of flooding and had been used also as the basis of discussions with local Elected Representatives who would, in future, be advised by way of a texting service of severe weather warnings when flooding was a real possibility.

            The Head of Environmental Health reported that the Rivers Agency had, under the provision of the new European Floods Directive, been tasked in association with other agencies, with developing strategic flood risk management plans, initially for the Belfast area.  In order to progress the matter, the Agency, together with the Department for Agriculture and Rural Development, had attempted to establish a Stakeholder Group involving all of the relevant key agency staff.  She pointed out that the Water Environment (Floods Directive) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 placed a statutory duty on Northern Ireland Assembly Departments, District Councils and Northern Ireland Water to exercise the relevant functions in a manner which secured compliance with the European Floods Directive.  As such, the Rivers Agency had been charged with developing by 2015 the Flood Risk Management Sub-Plan for Belfast.

            She informed the Members that she, together with the Director of Health and Environmental Services, had on 3rd December met with the Chief Executive of the Rivers Agency in order to discuss the establishment of a Belfast Flood Risk Stakeholder Forum.  She pointed out that the establishment of such a Forum would assist with the development of the aforementioned flood plan and provide an effective mechanism for ensuring the facilitation of public participation, as required by the European Floods Directive.  Following the meeting, the Chief Executive of the Rivers Agency had invited the Council to confirm its participation in the Stakeholder Forum, which the Agency anticipated would meet four times per year.  Input from the various stakeholders would be used in order to inform the Flood Risk Management Plan.  The Agency had requested also the Council’s assistance in identifying, agreeing and contacting the relevant non-Departmental stakeholders and, in order to emphasise their commitment to partnership working, had suggested that the two organisations co?chair the Forum.

            Accordingly, she recommended that the Committee approve the Council’s participation in the Belfast Flood Risk Stakeholder Forum and agree to a joint chairing arrangement between the Council and the Rivers Agency.

            The Committee adopted the recommendation.