Agenda and minutes

There were no items of Urgent Business.

To receive declarations by Members of interests in respect of items on this Agenda. 

Members are reminded that, in accordance with the Localism Act 2011, they are required to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which have not already been declared in the Council’s Register of Interests. (It is a criminal offence not to declare a disclosable pecuniary interest either in the Register or at the meeting). 

Whilst not a legal requirement, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9 and in the interests of clarity and transparency, Members should declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which they have already declared in the Register, at this point in the meeting. 

In accordance with Part B Section 2 of the Code Of Conduct, Members are required to declare the existence and nature of any other interests as defined in paragraphs 8(1) or 9(2) of the Code of Conduct. 

There were no Declarations of Interests.

All Members of the Council and representatives from the following organisations have been invited to attend the meeting :

Environment Agency

Electricity North West

Lancashire Constabulary

Lancaster County Council

Lancashire Fire & Rescue

North West Ambulance Service

Lancaster District Chamber of Commerce

(a)        To consider the joint report of the Chief Officer (Regeneration and Planning),              Chief Officer (Health and Housing), Chief Officer (Environment) and Chief             Officer (Resources)

(b)        To hear a presentation from the Environment Agency

(c)        To hear a presentation from Electricity North West

(d)        The Committee will then consider the following themes :

·                Lack of Communication/Dissemination of Information

·                Emergency Response

·                Disruption of Businesses

·                Disruption of Residents

·                The Future

The Chairman welcomed all those present to the meeting.

The Chief Officer (Regeneration and Planning) presented a report which gave details of the impact that Storm Desmond and later Storm Eva had on the Lancaster District. The District Emergency Control Centre had been opened and manned by Council officers throughout the weekend of the floods and the following week.

Environment Agency

The Committee heard a presentation from the Environment Agency which illustrated the devastation the flooding caused.

The high levels of rain that fell in the Lake District fell onto already saturated land and rivers where the Rive Lune originated.

It was reported that the River Lune, on the day of the floods, had been recorded as the highest flow ever recorded on the Lune and any English river. It breached its banks at Skerton Weir.

The main cause of the flooding in the city centre was surface water and the areas most affected in the city centre were Damside Street and North Road.  A boundary surrounded this area which would have acted as a barrier for the surface water causing it to back up. The surface water could not drain off into the River Lune due to the high levels of water in the river which forced the drainage flaps shut backing up the water onto the streets.

It was noted that the River Lune at the Skerton Pool Flood Warning Area and the Storm Desmond flood outline was as expected by the Environment Agency.

Members were advised that 617 properties were flooded in Lancaster,32 properties in Halton and also 38 properties in Slyne and Warton.

It was reported that the businesses on Caton Road had been badly affected. The Environment Agency and City Council were working together on a bid to secure funding to protect the area.

Electricity North West

Electricity North West provided the Committee with details of the work they had undertaken during the flooding devastation in December.

It was reported that when the severe flooding of the River Lune adjacent to the Lancaster Grid took place, engineers were on site pumping the station out until it became completely overwhelmed and the sub station had to be turned off.

In 2009 addition defences had been installed in the site which had been envisaged to withstand a ‘once in a hundred years’ flood.

Members were advised that the electric supply had been lost to 60,987 customers at 22:39hrs on 5^th December 2016.  Engineers had returned to the station the following day and restored electricity at 04:28hrs on 7^th December 2016.  At 15:56hrs a further fault resulted in further power loss to 45,525 customers.

The flooding had seen the biggest deployment of generators by Electricity North West in history with 75 lowloaded mobile generators being brought into the district to reconnect the district’s electricity.

It was reported that Electricity North West were planning on spending £2.5 million on the sub station to make it water tight in the next few years.

The Committee were advised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 84.