Agenda item

To deal with business not otherwise specified in the Council summons which, in the opinion of the Chairman of the Council (in consultation with the Chief Executive), is business of such urgency as to require immediate attention by the Council.

The Chair confirmed that there was one urgent item for this meeting to consider which was a report setting out the impacts of Storm Ciaran.  This report has been uploaded to the Full Council web pages earlier on in the day as a second supplement pack and had also been circulated to the meeting.

            The Chair invited the Joint Interim Chief Executive and Director of Environment and Communities to present her report. It was explained that this report had been considered as urgent considering the unprecedented flooding in the district that the storm had caused. 

            The Director of Environment and Communities confirmed that the report set out the Council’s emergency planning response under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.  Its purpose was to update Members on the impacts following Storm Ciaran; setting out the multi-agency response that had taken place; and how the Council proposed to review the various issues following the incident by taking steps to reduce impacts in the future.

            The unprecedented rainfall received during October 2023 was highlighted. A major impact of Storm Ciaran following this high level of rainfall [on 2 November 2023] had been that of flooding in numerous areas of the district to include homes, businesses and roads. The storm, although significant, had not been declared as a major incident however the Council’s emergency planning role in dealing with such an event had followed the Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) 2004 and had been supported by other lead agencies such as the Environment Agency (EA), supported by West Sussex County Council (WSCC) as the flood authority. A full list of the involvement of the Emergency Planning Officer and others involved in responding to matters that had arisen over the past week had been set out in Appendix 2. Services provided by the Council had continued as normal during the storm period and had included the removal of fallen trees; ensuring that streets remained clear of debris; checking and clearing drain grates; inspecting the condition of the coast, breaches, promenades and sea defences. The council’s refuse collection service had continued as normal.

            Communications during this period had been key and had been issued almost daily with the Communications Team distributing information using various channels and heavily using social media platforms.  The full impact of the storm was still being assessed and it had been reported that at least 5 properties had endured internal flooding requiring the assistance of the fire service. Other reports of flooding in other properties had also been received  via the multi-agency recovery process and several businesses had been badly affected.  Numerous information sources had provided Members with details on how to report flooding which was via the Storm Ciaran email address. It was the Council’s responsibility to take the lead role in coordinating the recovery from such an incident with the aim of restoring key services, and establishing a collaborative approach to help communities recover to achieve relative normality and to establish communication channels with the public, partners and other stakeholders.

            In taking this forward it was proposed that the council, via its Environment Committee, should establish a ‘Forum’ made up of various partners responsible for flood preparation, planning and response, to investigate and consider the contributing factors, impacts and possible solutions.

            Councillor Stanley, as Leader of the Council, then presented the report and in doing so applauded the work of Councillors and Officers who had worked exceptionally hard in very challenging times to support residents and businesses in the district. In response to this, Councillor Stanley confirmed how necessary it was to support the numerous recommendations detailed. 

            Councillor Stanley then referred to Appendix 2 of the report detailing the extensive work and meetings that had been undertaken and he thanked officers for pulling this vital information together within a very short period of time. Councillor Stanley stated that it was essential for the council to continue with this cross party and cross organisation work as these events were still very real and were live situations that required a continued multi-agency approach. The second recommendation in the report addressed how the council would work to mitigate similar events in the future.

            In formally proposing the recommendations, Councillor Stanley confirmed that he wished to make an amendment to Recommendation 2 (C) to read as follows [additions have been shown in bold with deletions shown using strikethrough].

            (2) This Council recommends to the Environment Committee that a ‘Forum’ is established made up of various partners responsible for flood preparation, planning and response, including the Environment Agency, Southern Water, West Sussex County Council and others, to investigate and consider the contributing factors, impacts and possible solutions;

A)   The Forum is to be chaired by a suitably qualified independent person;

B)   The Forum's findings be reported back to the Environment Committee and Full Council;  proposed by Cllr Bower and seconded by Cllr Bicknell.

C)   Authority is delegated to the Interim Chief Executives in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Chair of the Environment Committee to agree the terms of reference and arrangements for the establishment of the forum.

Councillor Tandy then seconded this amendment.

            The Chair then invited debate on the amendment. This saw widespread and varied discussion.  Thanks were extended by Councillor Wallsgrove to Councillor Gunner who had provided her with information allowing her to establish direct contact with the Chief Executive at Southern Water.  This had allowed her to have progressed many conservations covering the severity of numerous flooding incidents in Barnham and where it had been critical to have removed two residents from their properties having only just returned following severe flooding in 2022. It was agreed that Southern Water and the EA needed to address and be looking to rectify such ongoing flooding and the reasons for them urgently.

            All Councillors agreed that the Forum needed to be established and that it should be chaired by a suitably qualified independent person. Questions were asked as to who this would be and how long it might take to secure such an individual before the Forum could meet.  In response it was explained that Officers were planning to approach an independent expert, possibly through the University of Chichester, who would have the ability to take on this responsibility using an academic and dispassionate approach to the problem.

            Councillors also praised the work of their fellow Members and affected residents who had been extremely active within their Wards over the past ten days, and they echoed the strength of concern that had been expressed over the severe flooding incidents reported and that urgent action was required within those Wards. The Wards identified as being the most severely impacted were Bersted, Barnham, Climping, Pagham, and Middleton on Sea with sympathy being extended to all residents and businesses affected, as well as other areas across the district. It was acknowledged that Councillors and residents had worked very hard distributing sandbags and passing on information to those that needed it. In view of this, the amendment was welcomed as it would encourage further collaborative working and was a positive way forward.

            Questions were asked as to how non-Environment Committee Members could become involved. It was important for the Forum to put in place measures to ensure that the impacts from future storms would not be so severe moving forward.  Discussion also focused upon whether the Forum was the correct mechanism to achieve the work required. There were some Councillors who strongly believed that such discussions should sit with Full Council only and that instead a Special Meeting of the Council should be called as soon as possible.

            Concern was also expressed over the lack of maintenance and clearance of ditches. In years gone by, the Council had employed a Ditches Officer who had responsibility for assessing who were riparian owners and ensuring that they were aware of and actioned their responsibilities in terms of maintenance. It was felt that this was a major contributing factor to many of the flooding issues within the district. There was concern over the number of ditches that needed to be put back into service and that over time working on this would quickly reduce flooding incidents. The fact that management agents had been passed responsibility for managing ditches was seen to be part of this problem.

            Continuing with the debate on ditches and riparian ownership, it was highlighted that many riparian owners did not understand or were not aware of their responsibilities. This was an argument to consider in supporting the Forum as part of its work would look to address such issues. There were some Councillors who agreed that Full Council should have overall responsibility for the Forum and that in receiving reports back, a Special Meeting of the Council should be convened to provide dedicated time for all Councillors to discuss and debate findings.

            In continuing debate, many concerns were expressed over the exclusion of Southern Water and their responsibilities. It was felt that they had exacerbated many of the problems with pumping stations having been switched off during the period of the storm and afterwards. Another major problem had been sewage backing up in drainage systems and leaking into houses and business premises. Many Councillors aired their frustration over the lack of response to the sewage flooding situation which had caused misery to many residents. Despite the best efforts of local Members of Parliament, Councillors and residents, the response provided by Southern Water had been poor and so it was vital that they be included in the work that the Forum would initiate.

            Further detailed discussion took place where concerns were expressed regarding:

·       The over development of the district in terms of housing

·       The impacts caused by a severe lack of funding provided to the EA.

·       That natural water courses such as the Aldingbourne Rife were being mismanaged by the EA and were not being dredged

·       A poorly maintained Victorian drainage infrastructure that Southern Water were responsible for which was severely outdated and could not cope with today’s demands

·       The pumping of raw sewage into the sea

·       The tankering of flood water with polluted sewage

·       Shareholder profits versus public services

·       Climate change and rising sea levels

·       Large strategic development sites were contributory factors

·       A Special Council was needed to add weight and input from all responsible agencies

·       Who should be invited and how long would the forum continue, what would its terms of reference be?

·       Councillors could and should be given the opportunity to provide real input into the Forum

·       The district was only at the start of what looked like to be a terrible flood season and so urgent action was required

·       Communication from this council needed to be improved

·       The forum needed teeth and could not afford to become a talking shop – action was needed now and plans to prevent repeated incidents in the future

·       Residents and businesses should not have to tolerate coping with raw sewage seeping into their homes and businesses

·       Parish Councils had not been included as part of this council’s communication responses which needed to be rectified.

            Councillor Tandy, as seconder to the amendment, thanked Councillors for their detailed debate in response to so many areas having been affected. It was clear that the council needed to work with calm heads without making criticisms of individuals whilst holding statutory agencies to account and as they had failed in their duties. Equally, there was the need to look internally as some of the decisions made by the council had not been perfect. The establishment of the Forum would allow the council to work together in partnership with all agencies.

            Councillor Tandy applauded the work of Officers who had worked very hard over the last ten days to help, it was his view that communication had been good and had reached those that needed it. He supported the amendment and views that the Forum’s findings be reported back to Full Council.

            In response, the Group Head of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer recommended that with Recommendation 2 (B) that the reference to Full Council should be changed to “an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council” to ensure dedicated debate.  As this was fully supported by Councillors, the proposer and seconder to the amendment, Councillors Stanley and Tandy confirmed their agreement to this change. 

            Councillor Stanley, as proposer of the recommendations, thanked Members for a very worthwhile and constructive debate. He reconfirmed that the Environment Committee would decide the terms of reference and arrangements for establishing the Forum which would address two conflicting situations, the urgency in responding to this event, which was not a new situation, and working together to mitigate the problem for the remainder of this year and future years to reduce repeating events moving forward. This would also require input nationally from Government and the need for strong commitment to climate change which had certainly been a contributing factor. 

            Following further discussion, the Council then

                        RESOLVED - That

1)            Arun District Council acknowledges the devastating impact the recent flooding has had on residents and businesses within the district;

2)            This Council recommends to the Environment Committee that a ‘Forum’ is established made up of various partners responsible for flood preparation, planning and response, including the Environment Agency, Southern Water, West Sussex County Council and others, to investigate and consider the contributing factors, impacts and possible solutions;

a)            The Forum is to be chaired by a suitably qualified independent person;

b)            The Forum’s findings be reported back to the Environment Committee and an Extraordinary Meeting of Full Council;

c)            Authority is delegated to the Environment Committee to agree the terms of reference and arrangements for the establishment of the forum.