Agenda item

(To consider a report from David Hickman, Head of Environment, which clarifies and formalises the Council's discretionary provision of sandbags during flooding incidents, and sets out the process for providing this resource which is being presented to the Executive on 7 April 2021. The views of the Committee will be reported to the Executive as part of its consideration of this item)

Consideration was given to a report from the Head of Environment, which clarified and formalised the Council's discretionary provision of sandbags during flooding incidents, and set out the process for providing this resource. This was being presented to the Executive on 7 April 2021. The views of the Committee would be reported to the Executive as part of its consideration of this item.

The report recommended to the Executive that it approve the maintenance of a stock of 10,000 sandbags to be available for distribution in the event of a flooding incident; approve the "Proposed new protocol for provision of sandbags" as set out in the report; and delegate to the Executive Director – Place, in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Commercial and Environmental Management, authority to approve arrangements with District Councils for the collection of contaminated sandbags for disposal.

Lincolnshire County Council would maintain a total stock of 10,000 sandbags and sand to fill them, equally distributed between the four highways depots. The bags would mostly be stored empty in order to prevent degradation of the materials should they remain unused for any significant period of time. In anticipation of small-scale local need each depot would maintain a stock of 50 pre-filled sandbags. Pre-filling of additional sandbags would be undertaken in the event of severe weather forecasts predicting high likelihood of impacts. Requests for sandbags could be made by parish and town councils, along with other organisations, to the County Council on behalf of local communities. Priority locations would be:-  where there was a risk to life and or property; Vulnerable members of the community; critical infrastructure.

The report outlined in detail how the process of requesting sandbags worked and the collection and disposal process of contaminated sandbags.

Members considered the report, and during the discussion the following comments were noted:-

·         It was questioned whether the even distribution of sandbags at each depot was the best scenario and would they be better distributed where flooding was more likely to occur, this thought was dispelled as it was thought flooding could occur anywhere in Lincolnshire.

·           The main stocks of sandbags would be evenly distributed across the four primary highways depots, though additional stock would be held in a further four to ensure (eight depots in total) even coverage across the county.  The protocol would increase the speed of response to localised incidents, particularly when the severity of the incident was expected to be high. Members of the public would contact the 24-hour flood line number which links into this system.

·           Lincolnshire Local Resilience Forum (LRF) maintained links to alternative methods of flood prevention on its website. An important resource for these was the National Flood Forum which researched different technologies and approaches. The government was actively promoting the enhancement of resilience of local communities. There were regular reviews of alternative methods of flood prevention, in particular flood door barriers and inflatable bags. This was an active area of government research at present.

·           The LRF was working closely with Parish and Town Councils with their local flood plans. Larger authorities had better capacity to manage major incidents due to the sheer logistics of deploying large amounts of materials.

·           There was some concern that building on floodplains was still an issue. Due to recent adverse weather incidents, some older properties were also now at risk from flooding. As the lead local flood authority, the Council provided advice on planning applications to local planning authorities. Flood risks were minimised by working with District Councils and partners through the Lincolnshire Flood Risk and Drainage Management Partnership to prepare in advance for when incidents happened and for adverse outcomes. 

·           Support would be given to elderly residents and vulnerable individuals with the provision and positioning of sandbags where needed. It was planned to deploy sandbags directly by the Council and partner organisations where appropriate, as well as promoting this capacity locally rather than leaving distribution of sandbags to communities. The LRF maintained plans for safeguarding vulnerable members of the community which was a key element to consider both at strategic planning and operational delivery.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the Committee support the recommendations to the Executive, as set out in the report and outlined above;

2.    That a summary of the comments made be passed on to the Executive in relation to this item.