With winter comes emergencies and floods. Last year, we published a detailed blogpost setting out some ideas for practitioners – this post is just intended as a gentle reminder, now we’re heading into the season when this kind of thing now happens with alarming regularity - starting with the first winter storm of the season last week. Council scrutiny functions have unique powers to oversee local flood risk management plans (originally brought in by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009). This follows the significant success that scrutiny had in some areas (especially Gloucestershire) engaging with the Environment ...
December saw some of the worst floods ever recorded in the north of England. For the first time, a major city, York, was seriously inundated. Images of floods seem to have now become a grim tradition at this time of year - floodwater cascading over breached defences, disintegrating bridges over swollen rivers, cars window-deep in water, quickly and suddenly abandoned with their hazard lights on.Pictures of the aftermath, too, are familiar. Pavements stacked high with ruined furniture and carpet, crowned with a sodden Christmas tree. Front rooms bare except for a solitary dehumidifer. Contrite and concerned politicians. Interviews with ...