Agenda and draft minutes

None.

Before the meeting’s items began there was a temporary election of the Chair, owing to the omission of the appointment and election of Chair and Vice-Chair from the agenda Councillor Lucas was proposed by Councillor Newell, seconded by Councillor Strong.

The formal appointment and election of Chair and Vice Chair will be on the agenda for the next meeting on 1^st October.

None.

ePetition - Keep Goldwire Lane Carfree - Modern Council)

Councillor Newell presented the petition as the relevant ward member. He emphasised that his presentation of the petition was not to be taken as an endorsement of it.

The committee agreed that no further action was to be taken. The lead petitioner will be notified – ACTION

Ross Price delivered a presentation and introduced the report, and answered the members’ questions with Cabinet Member Catrin Maby, Craig O’Connor andCarl Touhig:

Maria:

Who owns and maintains the sluice gate/rubbish screen infrastructure near Deep Weir that has been linked to flooding in Caldicot?

The large rubbish screen on the M4 culvert at the lower end of the Nedern Brook is owned and maintained by National Highways. The Nedern Brook itself is a main river, and the downstream section is managed by Natural Resources Wales (NRW), which carries out routine maintenance such as vegetation clearance along the watercourse.

What is being done to prevent the sluice gate/rubbish screen problem from causing flooding again?

Following previous flooding events and the subsequent Section 19 investigation, several measures have been put in place:

• National Highways has strengthened its inspection and maintenance regime for the trash screen.
• The screen is now checked more rigorously during normal conditions and when severe weather warnings are issued.
• Arrangements are in place for additional inspections during significant rainfall events.
• A manual means of operating the screen has been introduced, so it can be lifted in an emergency if debris and water pressure prevent the hydraulic mechanism from working.
• NRW has changed its maintenance practices so that vegetation and debris cleared from the watercourse are removed from the site rather than left on the riverbank, reducing the risk of material being washed downstream and blocking the screen.

How often is the rubbish screen checked, and how quickly would any blockage be cleared?

Exact inspection schedules were not available during the meeting. However, inspections are believed to take place on a routine basis during the winter, potentially weekly, and that additional checks are carried out when amber weather warnings are issued and during significant rainfall events. – ACTION: to get the exact timings and provide them to Members

Is there a shorter, more accessible version of the Flood Strategy that residents can use to understand what is being done about flooding?

Yes. A summary version of the strategy has been produced, although it is necessarily quite high-level. The full strategy also contains detailed contents pages and sections that allow readers to focus on information relevant to them. In particular, there is a dedicated section explaining the roles and responsibilities of different flood risk authorities and tables within the strategy show which organisation is responsible for different aspects of flood management. The strategy has been organised around catchments and local flood risk areas, allowing residents to focus on the action plans applicable to their own communities rather than reading the entire document. Officers are willing to help councillors and residents navigate the document and locate relevant information.

What is being done to improve communication and engagement with residents about flooding and flood risk?

Engagement has continued beyond the formal consultation process. In addition to the public drop-in sessions held during consultation, flood risk officers have been meeting regularly with individual residents and community groups across the county since Storm Claudia.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Noted.

Noted.

The minutes were confirmed.