Freuchie Flood Action Group

Reading the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 doesn’t easily clear up all the timescales for delivery of the various steps required to comply with the Act and ultimately when it is liable to bring real world flood prevention and protection measures to fruition. Surely there must be an easier way to find out the deliverables timescale rather than reading through and deciphering the Act? Yes, there is now. The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act Annual Report to Parliament 2009 has recently been published on the Scottish Government website, a report that appears to provide some of the outstanding answers being sought by flood survivors.

Date: 2016

Milestone: Publish implementation plans for delivering all measures set out in local flood risk management plans.

Lead: Local authorities

It is slightly alarming to see it could take until 2016 before local authorities publish their implementation plans. Gulp! Freuchie will undoubtedly have been hit by more flooding before this happens.

The intention is to lay a second commencement order in 2010 to bring into force Part 4 and the remaining sections of Part 6. In commencing Part 4, regulations setting out the transitional arrangements for transfer from the current statutory process for Flood Protection Schemes under the 1961 Act to the new process set out in the FRM Act will also be laid.

Part 4 of the Act relates to local authority powers to manage flood risk. Basically the local authorities gain all manner of new and strengthened powers and responsibilities for flooding in 2010.

In response to the long standing concerns surrounding the existing statutory process for Flood Protection Schemes, we are keen to allow local authorities to utilise the benefits of the new system as early as possible and without the need to go through a lengthy and complex period of transition.

Provision has been made to deliver flood improvements in a more timely fashion, but this will depend on your local authority pushing things along. In the meantime we need to push ahead under the old legislation and transitional arrangements – basically the outgoing regime that is no longer fit for purpose.

From 1 April 2008, funding of flood protection and coast protection schemes is not identified separately but the previous ring-fenced grant provision of £42 million in 2007-08 is rolled up in the General Capital Grant which is distributed to local authorities as part of the 3-year local government finance settlement covering the period 2008-11. The decision to substantially reduce ring-fencing was welcomed by COSLA and local government, and had no impact on the level of capital grant funding available to them. For 2009-10, local government was provided with a general capital grant of £462.64 million. The Scottish Government is continuing to deliver on its commitment to increase local authorities’ share of the Scottish Budget.

The report skirts around the issue of whether there has been increased spending on flood prevention since the change from ring fencing of funds to the Single Outcome Agreement. Going forward, a major worry has to be the potential for underfunding of flooding at local authority level. Councillors may well decide flooding is not a priority as the austerity cuts start to bite. Flood affected communities will have to lobby very hard to ensure councillors don’t make it impossible for flood officers to resource flood prevention and protection projects. Let’s hope we don’t hear Anne Robinson muttering, “Flooding… you are the weakest link!”

The Scottish Flood Forum (SFF) was set up in October 2008, with funding from the Scottish Government and the feedback received, from local authorities, community councils and individuals who have been flooded, on the services provided by SFF is very positive.

Freuchie Flood Action Group has the highest praise for the hard work and advice of Paul Hendy from the Scottish Flood Forum (SFF). We were the first flood action group to work with the SFF, a partnership that ensured Freuchie was well known by everyone that matters in the world of flooding! The commitment outlined in the report to extend the services available from the SFF is fabulous news for flood affected communities.

Elsewhere in the report, ongoing research and projects using Natural Flood Management (NFM) are mentioned. Developments in the flood warning service are welcome, but only become useful in Fife once the projects are rolled out Scotland wide.  The changes in areas of responsibility for the local authorities, Scottish Water, SEPA and other stakeholders are touched upon. A selection of large capital flood projects throughout Scotland are dealt with, but it is interesting to note the lack of information on any Fife projects currently underway!

Flood action groups and flood survivors will take a mixed bag from this report. In general it demonstrates good progress in dealing with flooding in Scotland.

Technorati Tags: Fife, flood, Flood Risk Management, flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Flood Action Group, Scottish Flood Forum, Scottish Government, SFF

The Scottish Flood Forum has released two new factsheets for flood victims and flood affected communities.

The factsheets can be found here.

Technorati Tags: factsheets, flood, Scottish Flood Forum

The Scottish Flood Forum is holding free Business Continuity Seminars down in the Borders.

More information and the booking form.

Technorati Tags: business continuity, flood, Scottish Flood Forum

The Scottish Flood Forum is aware there is a good deal of concern regarding protecting properties from flooding.

Paul Hendy of SFF commented,

My continued stance is each home owner has responsibility to protect their property and this is not necessarily the responsibility of the respective Council. In order to promote flood protection products and to let residents see them for themselves I have arranged a number of Flood Barrier Awareness Days to be held in various communities across Scotland.

Details of the Cupar event organised by Paul are below. The Scottish Flood Forum website also has details of other dates in Broxburn and Milnathort if you find you cannot make this one.

Date
Wed 30th Sept 2009

Time
3 – 7pm

Venue
The Cafe – County Buildings, St Catherine Street, Cupar, KY15 4TB

Event Description
The display and demonstration will be done by Rob Turner – who is an independent specialist in flood products. He does not work for any FD company but offers independent impartial advice on what is most suitable and affordable in respective properties.

Following the demonstration he will then arrange a no obligation and free of charge site survey / visit to any one who would like him to look at their properties.

The estimate will then be sent, but no follow up calls, or visits will be done. – Rob has many years in the building trade, and has extensive knowledge and understanding of the problems associated with protecting property.

It is anticipated once we know how many products are required the keenest prices will be negotiated to ensure that savings will be passed on to clients.

Technorati Tags: Broxburn, Cupar, flood, flood barriers, flood protection, flooding, Freuchie Flood Action Group, Milnathort, Paul Hendy, Rob Turner, Scottish Flood Forum

Cllr David MacDiarmid and John Thomson, Chairman of Freuchie Flood Action Group, attended a conference in Edinburgh yesterday that was suitably titled,

Holyrood ‘Sustainable flood risk management in Scotland:
implementation and key legislation’ conference

Photo: John Thomson, Chairman of Freuchie Flood Action Group, Paul Hendy of the Scottish Flood Forum and Cllr David MacDiarmid

Once again, John indicated to Roseanna Cunningham MSP, Minister of the Environment, that our invite to visit Freuchie was still open. It looks like our previous in person invite has been misplaced due to administrative changes in her team. An official invite is now winging its way towards Parliament. We’ll keep you updated on the Minister’s future visit.

Freuchie Flood Action Group would like to thank Freuchie Community Council for funding the place for our Chairman at this event.

Technorati Tags: David MacDiarmid, flooding, Holyrood, Freuchie, Freuchie Community Council, Freuchie Flood Action Group, Paul Hendy, Roseanna Cunningham, Scottish Flood Forum

Earlier this evening Alex Hill of the Met Office kindly joined us here in Freuchie to present a talk on Climate Change to Freuchie Flood Action Group. People travelled across from Falkland to join the residents of Freuchie in listening to a compelling case for climate change being a real man-made phenomenon. This has to be one of the best presentation so far to be delivered at a FFAG meeting.

John A Thomson, Chairman of Freuchie Flood Action Group commented:

We cannot thank Alex enough for venturing all the way to Freuchie to deliver this thought provoking talk. Even although it contained alarming facts and figures, we can take much from it in our ongoing campaign for flood prevention and protection for Freuchie. It was a privilege to be in the audience while he patiently took question after question,  from both sceptic and believer alike, responding with thought provoking answers that covered not only the scientific elements, but also the political, social and economic aspects of climate change.

It was also very welcome to see Paul Hendy of the Scottish Flood Forum turning up to support Alex and FFAG. Paul is doing sterling work in Scotland with flood affected communities… keep up the good work Paul.

Once again we have to give special mention to Ronnie at the Lomond Hills Hotel for the use of the facilities. We did try to increase Ronnie’s bar takings a little last night.

Alex has graciously made available a PDF version of his presentation for us to share. We heartedly recommend you take a look as it will be time well spent.

Presentation deck for the Climate Change Talk by Alex Hill of the Met Office

And finally…

Even although it has been 14 years since Alex was a TV weatherman, the star struck amongst the attendees insisted on getting their photo taken with him. Fame is indeed everlasting!

Photo: John A Thomson (Chair of FFAG), Alex Hill of the Met Office & Cllr David MacDiarmid

Technorati Tags: Alex Hill, climate change, Freuchie, Freuchie Flood Action Group, Lomond Hills Hotel, Met Office, Paul Hendy, Scottish Flood Forum

Just spotted this post over on the Scottish Flood Forum blog that mentions an upcoming free Business Flood Risk Seminar being held in Edinburgh on the 17th March 2009. 

More information is available from the SEPA website, which includes the latest programme information and the event booking form.

Registration is required for this event.

Technorati Tags: business flood risk, Edinburgh, flooding, Scottish Flood Forum, SEPA

The Scottish Flood Forum has a new blog, which is mainly the adventures and work of Paul Hendy, project manager of the Scottish Flood Forum. 

This will be an invaluable resource to observe the progress being made by Paul and to keep up to date with how Scotland is leading the way in dealing with flooding. You’ve certainly got a few eyes here in Freuchie reading about your escapades during your time in Scotland… keep up the good work Paul.

Technorati Tags: flooding, Freuchie, Paul Hendy, Scottish Flood Forum

Freuchie Flood Action Group was joined last Tuesday afternoon by representatives from the Scottish Flood Forum on a guided tour of the River Devon Natural Flood Management Demonstration Site by Mike Donaghy of the World Wildlife Fund (WFF).

 
Photo: (left to right) Paul Hendy of the Scottish Flood Forum; Mike Donaghy of the WWF; Neil Duff, John Thomson and Jim Mullen of FFAG; and Amanda Davies, also of the Scottish Flood Forum 

This WWF developed and managed project was established in 2003 to aid in the understanding of natural sustainable flood management processes and systems. It has previously been visited by members of the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee as part of their inquiry for the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Bill. A report of this visit is available from the Scottish Parliament website.

Shown below are some of the natural sustainable flood management techniques employed at this site: leaky barriers;  barriers to introduce meander into the river course; tree planting; and creation of bog land.

   
Photos: Various natural sustainable flood management techniques

Freuchie Flood Action Group would like to thank Mike Donaghy of the WWF for showing us around this interesting project and more specifically for giving us much food for thought for the future.

Mike Donaghy of the WWF is a world renowned expert on natural sustainable flood management and an advisor to the Scottish Government on flooding matters. He recently gave evidence on natural sustainable flood management to the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee and most certainly had a big influence on the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Bill currently working its way through the Scottish Parliament.

Technorati Tags: flooding, Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Bill, Freuchie, Freuchie Flood Action Group, natural sustainable flood management, River Devon, Scottish Flood Forum, WWF

The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Bill Stage 1 debate occurred yesterday in the Scottish Parliament with all party support. A video of the debate is available on the Scottish Parliament website, but be warned it last for about two hours! Likewise, a transcript of the debate is available from TheyWorkForYou.com.

The debate was opened by Richard Lochhead  MSP, Cabinet Secretary for the Minister of the Environment, with an interesting statement:

“This Bill represents the most comprehensive modernisation of flood risk management in Scotland for over 40 years. It is a co-ordinated approach which will deliver flood management at a catchment scale, allowing local authorities and others to take the best possible approach to managing flooding in their area.”

A very good summary up of what is needed by way of betterment in dealing with flood risk management and prevention and protection. 

Some interesting snippets from the Scottish Government press release:

The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on September 30, 2008. It will streamline and speed up the development and implementation of flood risk management measures, introduce a more sustainable and modern approach to flood risk management and create a more joined up and co-ordinated process to flood risk management throughout Scotland.

Specific measures in the Bill include:

• A framework for coordination and cooperation between all organisations involved in flood risk management
• Assessment of flood risk and preparation of flood risk management plans
• New responsibilities for SEPA, Scottish Water and local authority functions for flood risk management
• A revised, streamlined process for flood risk management measures
• New methods to enable stakeholders and the public to contribute to managing flood risk

The first and last bullet points are of great interest to flood affected communities as it enshrines in law the involvement of all stakeholders when look at flooding issues. In the past many flood victims and affected communities have felt disenfranchised from the processes and systems that deliver flood management improvements. The community of Freuchie has already been working on the approach suggested in the Bill with the setting up of Freuchie Flood Action Group (FFAG) that cooperates closely with Freuchie Community Council. Additionally, we are currently exploring ways to improve communications and relationships with Fife Council in the spirit of the Bill. FFAG also has many specialist advisors onboard to provide information and advice related to the flooding of Freuchie and flood prevention and protection. Least we forget, even top politicians have been engaged so that our experience can be fed back to government; we’re looking forward to Mike Russell MSP, Minister for the Environment, coming to see us.

Roseanna Cunningham MSP, Convenor of the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee, pointed out that there appeared to be a culture of hard solutions amongst existing professionals. The new Bill makes it a requirements that natural sustainable flood management techniques are considered for all flood alleviation schemes. However, local authorities are still able to pass over natural sustainable solutions in favour of hard engineer where it is shown to be appropriate. Freuchie appears to be a good case for a hybrid approach, utilising the best of the natural sustainable approach and hard engineering to protect the community.

Liam McArthur MSP, reflected on evidence given by Jim Moodie to the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee on the 10th December 2008:

“Jim Moodie from Fife Council, who made quite an impression on the committee, as I recall, referring to the lack of interim arrangements suggested that this was quote,

‘A concern because there is nothing in the Bill to say that councils have to do anything until the management plans are in place.’

I accept that it would be a foolish, if not to say a short lived council administration that would sit on its hands and do nothing in the face of a demonstrable flood risk in its area. Never the less, I hope the Minister will accept the need to clarify the position regarding interim arrangements.”

Credit should be given to Mr Moodie for identifying and highlighting potential issues with the Bill at a stage when the deficiency can be corrected.

He went on to touch upon funding, returning again to quote from Mr Moodie’s evidence,

“The lack of a clear funding mechanism will mean that many schemes will not be delivered at all because funding will be allocated to what councils consider to be other priorities. He added, rather courageously perhaps, that our budgets are defined by accountants and asset management people who are not directly affected by flood prevention measures or functions. Mr Moodie doubtless had his work cut out in making his peace with colleagues once back across the bridge that afternoon, but his candor did suggest that assurances from Ministers about flood funding may still fall upon deaf ears.”

Bravo to Mr Moodie for fighting the flood funding corner. It is vital to ensure funds for flooding don’t end up being spent on other more populist priorities by local authorities. There looks to be a case for the accountants and asset managers to be independently briefed on flooding and the long term effects it has on communities. They would certainly benefit from a presentation by Paul Hendy of the Scottish Flood Forum.

Mr Moodie’s oral evidence can be viewed online – it is approximately 33 minutes in on this video recorded at the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee Flood Bill evidence session on the 10th Dec 2008.

Further details and Stage 1 reports are available from the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Bill committee webpage. The response by the ABI is particularly encouraging. More videos are available to view from the other evidence sessions for stage 1 of the Bill.

The Scottish Government appear to be driving flooding in the right direction and should be praised for such an enlightened and world leading approach. A significant step is the suggested addition of the word “sustainable” on the face of the bill in stage 2, which demonstrates the focus on a sustainable flood management approach.

A final alarming statistic from the press release:

According to MET Office records, going back to 1914, the summers of 2007 and 2008 were the wettest consecutive summers on record for the East and West of Scotland.

Let’s hope 2009 sees this alarming news being turned around in our favour. Jim Mullen, Vice Chairman of FFAG, presented similar findings to a public meeting a few months back based on SEPA rainfall data.

Technorati Tags: ABI, Fife Council, flooding, Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Bill, Freuchie, Freuchie Community Council, Freuchie Flood Action Group, Jim Moodie, Rural Affairs and Environment Committee, Scottish Flood Forum, Scottish Government, Scottish Parliament, Scottish Water, SEPA