Agenda item

The Chairman welcomed the new District Councillors who were attending their first Scrutiny meeting, and thanked Councillors A Austin, F Martin and M Seymour who previously sat as District representatives on the Committee.

He informed the Committee that a motion had passed at the Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) meeting held on 15 September 2023 to refer to the matter of discharge of sewage into rivers and the sea to the Committee where the issue could be fully aired, and actions available to the Council can be determined. This topic would be scheduled for consideration at the meeting on 27 November 2023.

He also highlighted that a site visit had been scheduled on 16 October 2023 to observe the work of Project Groundwater in Lincolnshire.

Councillor C Davie, Executive Councillor for Economic Development, Environment and Planning, made the following announcements:

·         Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) continued to engage with partners to manage the risk of coastal flooding to ensure communities were resilient. In collaboration with the University of Lincoln, the Environment Agency and East Lindsey District Council, LCC developed a jointly agreed, transparent evidence-base to aid Local Authorities in planning to mitigate the challenges of climate change.

·         The Humber 2100+ project continued to formulate data regarding the risk of tidal flooding at the estuary.

·         Officers continued to work with Anglian Water (AW) on the Lincolnshire Reservoir Project who were establishing a community liaison group to capture residents’ concerns. Officers worked to ensure the project involved a range of benefits to ensure the environmental and economic benefits of the scheme were recognised.

·         The Flood and Water Team received 18 reports of localised flooding in response to rainfall on the 10 and 11 September; the majority related to carriageway and external flooding. Internal flooding was reported at 5 properties.

·         LCC continued to deliver capital flood risk projects and was developing a pipeline of works to address issues caused by recent flooding. Works in Cherry Willingham and Long Bennington were due to be completed by the end of September; a further project in Holdingham would start at the end of September.

The Committee noted the announcements and raised the following matters:

·         City of Lincoln Council had received funding from government to accommodate the increased penny rates on internal drainage boards (IDBs) and thanked the lobbying efforts of the Committee. Members suggested this funding gap was due to a mismatch in legislation which meant District Councils (DCs) could collect funding from other authorities.

·         Members questioned whether the funding issues impacting the Lindsey Marsh and Witham Fourth District IDBs had been resolved. The Executive Councillor informed that there was no long-term solution in place and subsequently highlighted the importance of sustained government lobbying.

·         District Councils (DCs) that paid the IDB special levy had received a one-off contribution from the Treasury to help pay what was now considered as an annualised revenue charge. The Chairman further emphasised the significance of lobbying to change how the IDB funding mechanism worked.

·         Executive Councillor responded to concerns regarding funding for flood prevention and was content LCC was able to manage and meet financial obligations for residents.