We can’t afford complete flood protection plan
LANCASHIRE County Council cannot afford the most effective flood management system for Ormskirk, it has revealed.
The news comes after the authority commissioned an independent study into Ormskirk, following flooding in Hurlston Brook, running through the middle of the town.
The area suffered its most significant flooding in 2012 and 2015.
The study reviewed various options for managing flood risk and how well they would work, measured by how often they would prevent flooding to properties and reduce the depth of water in people’s homes.
As lead local flood authority, the council is responsible for investigating the causes of floods, and establishing actions to be taken by all organisations responsible for managing water to reduce the impact of future events.
Most effective, the study found, is using locations around the town to temporarily store flood water, although it would be very expensive, because of the land needed and due to current public funding mechanisms, to pay for outright.
Other options found to help reduce impact include property-level protection measures for homes most at risk, adopting long-term planning and land-use policies designed to slow the rate at which water which runs off surrounding land, and ensuring the existing drainage network works as well as possible.
The report concludes that a wider, co-ordinated approach to manage the situation is needed. This would involve the county council, United Utilities and other partners working with developers to ensure the local drainage system meets the needs of future development, and look for opportunities to refurbish and regenerate the existing drainage network.
County Cllr Albert Atkinson, deputy leader of Lancashire County Council, said: “We have a duty to investigate the causes of serious flooding events to ensure all the organisations responsible for managing water, and the communities affected, understand the problem and how the impact of flooding could be reduced in future.
“Thanks to this study focused on Hurlston Brook, we now know far more about the way a number of complex factors interact during flood conditions, such as surface water run-off from surrounding agricultural and urban land, various watercourses, and the local drainage systems.
“The study advises on a combination of engineering measures which could be adopted. The most effective combination would include constructing storage areas for surface water to reduce the amount of water draining into Hurlston Brook, and reduce the pressure on the drainage systems.
“Unfortunately this option would be costly, in the region of £7m, and a significant residual flood risk would remain even if it were put in place.
“As such, it could not be delivered with the current public funding mechanisms.
“However, the report also outlines a number of further measures which organisations and individuals could pursue to improve the current situation.
“Some of these measures could potentially be achieved quite quickly, such as individual property owners installing flood doors, and others are more long-term, such as ensuring the issue is considered when development is planned in future.
“As the study recommends, we will continue to work with all partners which play a role in managing water in this area, and consider how planning policies about landuse in the surrounding area and opportunities to fund improvements through future development, could help to reduce the risk of flooding.”