Agenda item

1)         To review and comment on the early draft of Executive Decision SRA funding decision report that will be considered on 6 March 2024.

2)         To consider the draft SRA Strategy and provide feedback on its content.

The Chair welcomed David Mitchell, Senior Manager, Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) to themeeting. 

The Senior Manager, SRAexplained that the purpose of bringing the item to members of the Scrutiny Committee - Climate and Place is twofold: 

1.     to review and comment on the early draft of Executive Decision SRA funding decision report that will be considered on 6 March.   

2.    to consider the draft SRA Strategy and provide feedback on its content. 

He then took members through a presentation which explained what the Somerset Rivers Authority is and how it came into being. The slides took members through a summary of theSRA’s governance, workstreams (and achievements so far), budgets and the headlines of thenew Strategy and Flood Action Plan 2024-2034.    

He invited comments and questionsfrom members and the following were received and discussed:  

·         There was concern about the impacts of new development/building on the flooding of roads in Somerset and the need for a strategy to help communities that are being affected. The Senior Manager advised that the SRA is involved, with its partners, in monitoring and investigations, and can assist in terms of supportwith grant funding to help deliver solutions for all of these sorts of issues.   

·         There were many comments made around the devastating impact of flash flooding,and some members expressed concerns that these events are becoming more regular, and in some areas not improving despite flood prevention and mitigation activities.  

·         One member expressed his support and gratitude for the very good work of the Somerset Rivers Authority.  

·         Members felt that drain and gully clearingis an important aspect of flood prevention that continues to be an issue all over the county.  

·         Regarding council tax increases, one member felt that taxpayers do not want to pay more of their council tax to the SRA. The Senior Manager reassured the committee that there was no proposal to increase the 1.25% precept.  

·         Regarding the many projects that are shown on the map, would they be considered successful? Would these projects have been done without the support of the SRA, and finally if Somerset Council did not continue to fund the SRA, would all of this work have to stop? In his response the Senior Managergave the view that the projects have been highly successful, and advised that without a significant amount of its funding coming from Somerset Council the SRA would certainly have to certainly have to adapt and change the way in which it operates.     

·         One members asked if, when SRA officer go out to divisions, they make contact with division members to allow members to understand what is happening. The Service Manager agreed with this request, understanding the reasoning behind it.   

·         Regarding the flash flooding in West & Queen Camel which occurs annually despite flood defences, can the SRA support communities like this and share learning from this with other communities across Somerset facing the same issues?The Service Manager assured the councillor that SRA Community Engagement officers undertakeactivities such as these in their daily role. 

·         One member felt that more information was needed around the baselining, modelling, justification and quantifiable benefits of the Council spending this money. The Senior Manager acknowledged the point, assuring membersthat throughout the process, grant proposals are appropriately assessed for their benefits and impacts.He agreed that the SRA could improve its communications around this.  

The Senior Manager concluded thatfrom the discussions at the meetingit has become clear that thereis a need for more information on how the SRA is funded. He advised that he would provide a briefing note after the meeting, thanking the committee for the discussion, questions and valuable feedback. 

The Chair thanked the Senior Manager for the reports and concluded that the Scrutiny Committee – Climate and Place had considered and noted: - 

1)  The draft of Executive Decision SRA funding decision. 

2) The SRA Strategy and Flood Action Plan 2024-2034.