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Planning Advice Note PAN 69
Planning and Building Standards Advice on Flooding
OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS AND INFORMATION
FLOOD LIAISON AND ADVICE GROUPS
129. It is important that the different departments, professions and bodies dealing with flooding issues liaise with each other, and share information and expertise. Where a flood prevention scheme is being promoted this liaison will be particularly important. In some local authorities a steering group has been set up, bringing together key decision makers from within the authority, including Finance, Planning, Transport/Engineering, Building Standards etc. Some councils have also found it helpful to establish a group of Councillors to deal specifically with flood prevention issues.
130. SPP 7 states that each council should convene a Flood Liaison and Advice Group (FLAG) or combine with other councils to do so, possibly on a catchment basis. The purpose of a FLAG is to act as a forum for the key public and private interests to share knowledge and offer advice. FLAGs should be informal advisory groups and those which function well usually meet at regular intervals and include members from several different organisations, each of whom will contribute from their available data, experience and professional judgement. From within the local authority this is likely to include:
- the planning department
- roads / engineering department,
- emergency planning department
- building control
- possibly landscape/environment department
- The following will also usually be involved as appropriate:
- SEPA
- Scottish Natural Heritage
- Scottish Water
- representative from the house building industry
- representative from the insurance industry
- British Waterways, in areas where there are canals, and
- National Park Authority, for relevant areas
131. It is good practice for FLAGs to meet at least every 6 months. The FLAG may make a useful contribution to the biennial reports required by the Flood Prevention and Land Drainage (Scotland) Act 1997, and provide an opportunity to consider changes to Council policy, legislation and their possible implications.
132. Discussions at the flood liaison and advice group are likely to cover a range of topics such as:
- catchment flood management;
- maintenance issues e.g. watercourse cleansing;
- research, surveys and future research requirements;
- emergency planning and flood warning systems;
- input to emerging development plans - the group's findings will provide important material for the preparation of development plan policies and site allocations;
- flood prevention schemes, and other mitigation measures;
- development proposals within the catchment - the FLAG may not be in a position to provide formal comments on planning applications but may be able to advise at the pre-application stage;
- local, national and inter-agency co-ordination; and
- liaison meetings with local interest groups.
133. The advisory role of FLAGs means they are particularly important for the communication and exchange of information, and meetings should review useful sources, such as academic research and other relevant publications; websites; conferences, and other training opportunities; examples of policy and procedure best practice; and funding sources. The FLAG may also seek to draw in expert advice on flooding issues.
134. Agendas and minutes can be published on the internet, providing easy communication links for FLAG membership and between groups. This will aid the process of developing membership and information resources. Highland FLAG, for example, publish details via the council website. See Case Study 8 for some information on the Highland Council group.
BIENNIAL REPORTS UNDER THE FLOOD PREVENTION (SCOTLAND) ACT 1961
135. Since 1997, Scottish Local Authorities have been under a duty inserted in the 1961 Act by the Flood Prevention and Land Drainage (Scotland) Act 1997 to publish flood prevention reports every two years. A number of councils make their biennial flood prevention reports available on their websites. These reports must specify -
(a) the measures which councils consider necessary to prevent or mitigate the flooding of non-agricultural land in their area;
(b) the measures which they have taken to prevent or mitigate the flooding of such land since the publication of their previous report; and
(c) all occurrences of flooding of such land since that date.
SECOND GENERATION FLOOD RISK MAPS
136. New and more accurate flood risk maps have been commissioned by SEPA. As a first stage, land digital elevation data for the first catchments should be available by the end of 2004. Corresponding data for the remaining catchments, including the islands, will follow during 2005-6. These maps will improve the ability of planning authorities to identify land at risk of flooding and when consultation with SEPA is required. Once the maps are available, local authorities will be able to access the data in digital format for flood prevention purposes. It will still be necessary to interpret the information and use it in conjunction with other sources of information, such as development plans, local authority biennial reports on measures to prevent or mitigate flooding, commercial information sources, previous hydrological studies/flood risk assessments and records of historical flood events. The protection offered by existing flood and coastal defences is the subject of separate Scottish Executive research to establish a flood defence database.
FLOOD ESTIMATION HANDBOOK
137. The Flood Estimation Handbook is recognised as the current standard method of estimating flood flows on watercourses. The methodology is based on a database of around 1,000 gauging stations around the UK. The HiFlows - UK project is currently reviewing and updating this database. In Scotland a total number of 168 gauging stations are being considered for inclusion in this database out of a total number available of around 500. Some areas of Scotland are poorly represented by this database. Small catchments are poorly represented within the database therefore there can be more uncertainty attached to estimates for small ungauged catchments than for larger ones.
138. Flow and water level records are available for some major rivers, for example the Rivers Spey and Tay, from the 1950's but for other watercourses many records are only around 20-25 years long, or less. There can therefore be considerable uncertainty in extrapolating these relatively short records up to the annual 0.5% and 0.1% probability floods (1:200 & 1:1,000) where records exist and even more uncertainty in estimating the design floods on ungauged watercourses.
139. Through time more flow data will become available and this may alter the estimate of design flood flows and levels. Each estimate of design flood flow and level for a proposed development should be based on the best available information at that time. The uncertainties in estimates of design flows and levels should be accounted for by the addition of appropriate freeboard allowance to design flood levels.
WATER ENVIRONMENT AND WATER SERVICES ACT AND RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT PLANS
140. A major change in European water policy is being introduced under the Water Framework Directive (WFD). It expands the scope of water protection and introduces a system of planning and water management based on river basins.
141. In order to implement the WFD in Scotland, the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 ensures that all human activities that can have a harmful effect on the water environment can be controlled by establishing a framework for co-ordinated controls on water abstraction and impoundment, engineering works near watercourses, and all forms of pollution to water. The Act also establishes a planning system for the water environment with SEPA as the lead authority working alongside the public, private and voluntary sectors.
142. The River Basin Management Plans (and sub-basin plans) prepared under the Act and development plans must have regard to each other when they are being prepared and in their final form. It is expected that RBMPs will take into account the Act's requirement to "promote sustainable flood management". SEPA is leading the work to develop the RBMP system and prepare appropriate guidance. See www.sepa.org.uk/guidance/wfd/timetable.htm for more information on this aspect of implementation of the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act.
ENQUIRIES
143. Enquiries about the content of this advice note should be addressed to Helen Wood, Planning Division, Scottish Executive Development Department, 2-H Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ (0131 244 7535) or Ian Herd, Building Standards, ian.herd@scotland.gsi.gov.uk . Further copies of the Advice Note can be obtained by telephoning 0131 244 7543. A copy of this and other PANs and SPPs are also available on the Scottish Executive website at www.scotland.gov.uk/planning
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