Flintshire flood victims ‘failed’ by all levels of government claims climate committee chairman

The chairman of Flintshire County Council’s Climate Change Committee said ‘all levels of government have failed victims of flooding’ as councillors considered the outcomes of a public inquiry.

Committee members launched the inquiry into surface water flooding in 2023, using Pentre, Mancot and Sandycroft  – areas that regularly suffer with flooding – as case studies.

The findings this week went before councillors on the climate change committee. Its chairman, Cllr Alasdair Ibbotson said in his view flood victims had been badly let down over years.

“All levels of government have failed victims of flooding,” he said.

“The consequences of the last 15 years of cuts have resulted in a lack of maintenance of existing systems, decay of existing systems and a failure to respond to the increasingly bad weather we are already experiencing as a result of climate change.

“If adopted, this report and its 16 recommendations, provides a tool for affected residents and this council to bang the drum for serious change at Welsh Governement  and UK Government level. If that happens then we will have done our job.”

The report acknowledges surface water flooding impacts every part of Flintshire. It focused on the Sandycroft area as it experiences every type of flooding issue found in the county.

It said there was ‘strong evidence that climate change means extreme weather will happen more frequently in Flintshire’ and that ‘if drainage systems are already failing catastrophically, there is a clear need to improve those systems.”

The primary causes of flooding were identified as poor and reduced maintenance – for example the Pentre Drain in Sandycroft where a significant build-up of silt had to be cleared by the council.

The inquiry also found there was a need for more research to determine whether sustainable drainage solutions (SuDS) can be designed to mitigate increased flow of water caused by new housing developments.

Flintshire County Council, Natural Resources Wales and Welsh Water share responsibility for surface water drainage, with private landowners also having a role to play. But the inquiry found a blame game prevented action being taken.

“Within the Sandycroft area, there is now a much greater degree of partnership working between agencies than was previously the case,” it said.

“This has sadly not extended more broadly and the committee is concerned by cases where residents have been passed from pillar to post, with the council, Natural Resources Wales, Welsh Water or landowners each saying that problems are the fault of one of the others.

“This merry-go-round of responsibility is deeply unhelpful at the best of times, especially when flood waters are rising and action is required.”

The recommendations in the report charge Welsh Government, Natural Resources Wales and Flintshire County Council with increasing funding for drainage improvements rather than maintenance, reviewing the impact of SuDS on downstream drainage systems, prioritising drain clearance programes and calling on the UK Government to give Wales more funding to deal with flooding and drainage improvements.

“This report by itself is not going to fix flooding in Sandycroft or anywhere else in Flintshire,” said Cllr Ibbotson, who last week was invited to discuss the inquiry with key national decision makers at the Institute of Civil Engineers’ and Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management’s Wales Flood Conference in Cardiff.

“It is a tool to start applying political pressure to those who ultimately can make the decisions to improve the lives of people affected by flooding at a Welsh and UK Government level.”

By Alec Doyle – Local Democracy Reporter