Cllr Fifield spoke at Cheshire West & Chester’s Cabinet Meeting on Wednesday 17 March, regarding the publication of the s.19 Report into the 2019 Floods.
He only had 3 minutes to speak and tried to summarise concerns from residents of Acton Bridge and Weaverham, Cllr Paul Williams’s views (as he was unable to attend), the Northwich Independent Retailers Association and his own consideration of the report, as follows:
Council Cabinet: 17 March 2021
Item 9: Northwich Section 19 Floor Investigation Report
This report has been a long time coming and whilst there are elements within it that I welcome, such as increased communication with residents and forward planning, there are a number of concerns which need addressing:
Firstly, why has the Report taken so long, all Risk Management Authorities had commented by July 2020 but the Interim Report wasn’t published until November, stating the full Report would be produced by the year’s end for publication in early 2021.
Secondly, as the Recommendations include 7 from the Interim Report, did work start on all of these last year? Was there formal contact with the Weaver Residential Home, other vulnerable adults including in Weaverham and Acton Bridge, and the Northwich Independent Retailers Association? The A49 drains have been blocked for months.
Thirdly, the Final report only makes 4 references to the Manchester Ship Canal and no reference to its owner Peel Ports or either the Weaver Sluices or the Eastham Locks, which are downstream of Dutton Sluices and could allow further capacity for earlier lowering of the River Weaver.
We need an urgent review of continued monitoring of water heights and performance of sluices, weirs and locks on both the River Weaver and the Manchester Ship Canal. Items 9 and 10 should be amended to reflect this.
Fourthly, dredging of the River Weaver is only mentioned 3 times and is summarily dismissed, whilst Riparian owners are encouraged in essence to dredge their own drains and streams to assist water flow. The River requires a certain depth to allow navigation, but dredging would allow the River level itself to be reduced, as the volume of silt would be replaced by water, something Archimedes established 23 centuries ago.
Whilst this may only make a small difference, at high water mark those extra few inches could prevent disaster. A new specific recommendation should be added to assess this.
Fifthly, whilst the Northwich Flood Defences worked, any chain is only strong as its weakest link and the residents and businesses in our town centre were let down in January because the full investigative and remedial works recommended in the Interim Report last year, had still not taken place. If the Council does not act immediately, our Flood Defences will get a reputation as a 21st century Maginot Line, utterly impregnable but easily by-passed.
Sixthly, Item 11 must be widened to encompass additional planned flooding capacity, there may be landowners who would enter into such agreements, again allowing vital extra capacity at peak flow times. The “SUDS” in Item 11, could potentially take advantage of the Weaver Square development site and even the existing subway.
My seventh, is the report repeatedly refers to Sandy Lane being near Acton Bridge, Sandy Lane is in Weaverham not in Acton Bridge the village, but it is close to Acton Swing Bridge and that lack of attention to detail can undermine the confidence of the residents.
Finally, rainfall is not the Council’s fault but dealing with and mitigating the flooding is the Council’s responsibility, the Council needs to acknowledge its errors in 2019 and the slow progress since, the impact on the floods in 2021, the Portfolio Holder and Leader of the Council should accept the responsibility for this, apologise and immediately implement a further s.19 report into the 2021 floods, with a far stricter turnaround report time.
After the Cabinet meeting Cllr Fifield said:
CWC Cabinet passed the s,19 report yesterday with no amendments, although there was some acknowledgement that wider issues raised during the debate need to be taken into account.
I spoke on the Item to raise concern on issues, including from residents of Acton Bridge and Weaverham, such as the delay in the production of the report, slow commencement of the interim recommendations which might have helped in January, dredging, as well as the basic importance of monitoring water levels, sluices, weirs and locks on both the River Weaver and the Manchester Ship Canal downstream.
As shown below the Council is setting up a Flood Risk Action Group which Cllr Paul Williams will be on. A webcast of the Cabinet Item is here:
CHESHIRE WEST PRESS RELEASE:
Date: 17 March 2021
Reference Number: 5103
Cheshire West and Chester Council establishes Flood Risk Action Group
A new action group is to be set up in Cheshire West and Chester to oversee the action being taken to prevent future flooding events in the borough.
Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Cabinet announced today (Wednesday, 17 March), that the Flood Risk Action Group (FRAG) will be established to oversee the recommendations coming out of the Section 19 investigation report into the 2019 flooding in Northwich.
The group will also ensure that an interim investigation report into the flooding events in January will be produced within the next four months.
At its meeting, the Council’s Cabinet accepted the flood investigation report and formally endorsed the action points it recommends.
The report states: “It is proposed that the Council immediately establishes a Flood Risk Action Group to oversee the earliest positive and effective delivery of all the recommended actions set out in the final Northwich Section 19 Investigation Report.”
The group, which will be made up of Council members and officers, will work closely with partners including community members, business groups, MPs, and Town and Parish Councils.
It will also work alongside other agencies including the Environment Agencies, United Utilities and the Canal and River Trust.
Within the next fours months, FRAG will also develop a programme of initiatives, schemes and resources to help the borough recover from the flooding impacts of Storm Christoph and improve flood risk management and resilience. This programme will be submitted to the Council’s Cabinet in July, 2021 for approval.
The group will be chaired by the Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for the Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport, Cllr Karen Shore.
Speaking at today’s Cabinet meeting, Cllr Shore said: “We take the flooding events and the impacts on our residents very seriously. We are committed to doing all we can to mitigate the impacts of flooding as we move forward. That’s why I am announcing the establishment of the Flood Risk Action Group which will oversee the implementation of the recommendations. These include the creation of a programme of initiatives, schemes and resources that will help the borough recover from the impact of flooding. We want to underline our commitment to action and we look forward to working with all agencies, stakeholders, MPs, councillors, residents, businesses, landowners and communities to ensure these actions are delivered in a timely, open and transparent way. We are committed to ensuring that they are clear, timely and impactful.”
You can read the full Section 19 Flood Investigation Report on the 2019 flooding here: s19 Report 2019
