A Centrally Funded Catchment Based Approach to Sustainable Flood Management

1. A Centrally Funded Catchment Based Approach to Sustainable Flood Management LEGISLATIVE AND FUNDING CONSTRAINTS Derek Davidson, Angus Council FIAC 25/05/06

2. First Things First - Appraising the “Most Sustainable Flood Event” • Current funding mechanism steer LA’s to 1 in 100/200 year flood events (though not exclusively). • The “most sustainable flood” event could simply be defined as the flood return period that has the minimum adverse environmental, social and cost effects in both the short, medium and long terms • The “most sustainable option” for flood prevention can only be developed by appraising the “most sustainable flood event” as part of the option appraisal process.

3. SFM = Long Term Public Funding • LA options considered for appraisal are typically constrained by short term “one shot” approach to resolving flooding problems. • Only a long-term approach to flood management can be sustainable, but this approach may have to involve short-term measures to secure public safety. • A long term strategic flood approach requires a long term grant to support it. A whole life costing approach to catchment flood management is required. For instance long term funding would allow LA scheme’s similar to the River Devon to be publicly funded.

4. “Catchment Based Approach” Requires Catchment Based Benefits • The cost of benefits to non-urbanised land are excluded under existing cost/benefit appraisal procedures. This deters a truly “catchment based approach” to publicly funded SFM. • I.E: Attenuation schemes benefit both urbanised and non-urbanised land, only benefits for non-agricultural land are currently considered. This is effectively steering LA’s away from attenuation options towards measures that primarily benefit urbanised floodplains.

5. Flood Prevention Act 1961 – An Unsustainable Legislative Constraint to SFM . • Under the above Act - LA’s are currently constrained to consider options that only protect urbanised floodplains. • Legislation needs to be “joined up”. LA’s need to be allowed to consider all options and arrive at the most sustainable solution for the whole catchment, not just the urbanised floodplains.

6. Constraints on Scottish SFMMy “Wish List” • Central grant allocation revision - allowing LA’s to deal with the “most sustainable” flood event; would like to see the most sustainable option determined hand-in-hand with the most sustainable flood return period. • Long term strategic funding put in place to allow LA’s to look at long term measures such as land use change. • Benefits to agricultural land to be included in C/B appraisal – promoting catchment based approach to SFM. • FPA revision - allowing LA’s to defend agricultural land (if most sustainable option) – promoting catchment based approach to SFM.

7. Prioritisation Paper • Prioritisation Paper • National Ranking of Schemes • Not all criteria apply to all schemes • Take percentage score from applicable criteria as basis for prioritisation.