City councillors renew action on Lancaster flooding and surface water control

A group of city councillors have successfully lobbied for action in response to flooding across Lancaster in August.

Green councillors secured unanimous support at Lancaster City Council to renew action on surface water control, following the flooding of dozens of properties this summer.

Councillors Mandy Bannon, Paul Stubbins and Gina Dowding moved a motion to call on the chief executive of the city council to bring together the organisations responsibly for flood risk and drainage, including Lancashire County Council and United Utilities, to urge improvement on actions first identified more than five years ago.

The Lancaster City Surface Water Management Plan was commissioned in response to the devastating flooding effects of Storm Desmond of 2015. The plan was published in 2021 and later updated in 2023, and identifies a series of measures to be taken to reduce the risk of surface water flooding in Lancaster.

These include introducing sustainable drainage schemes (known as SuDs), improving water surface management, property flood resilience, and sewer capacity. Some actions have been completed or are progressing, though several are yet to be completed.

The flooding on Thursday 20th August, where Lancaster faced over 70mm of rainfall in a two-hour period, affected homes and businesses across the area, including the city centre, Bowerham, Marsh, Greaves and White Cross, as well as parts of Morecambe.

Councillor Mandy Bannon said: “The flooding on August 20th was devastating for many residents and businesses. The intense rainfall overwhelmed parts of our drainage system, and we know that climate change is increasing the likelihood of more extreme rainfall events.

“First and foremost, we want to thank the emergency services, council staff and all those who supported residents and businesses during and after the flooding.

“As a Green group, we felt it was essential that the city council used its position to bring the key agencies together and push for renewed action. I am therefore pleased that our motion was unanimously supported by councillors at the city council meeting on 23rd September.

“But this vote does not mean that the problem has been solved. It is a commitment to keep pressing for the work that is still needed. The Surface Water Management Plan contains many important measures, but too few have yet to be delivered. Residents deserve to know what has been done, what is being carried out now, and what is still outstanding – and, crucially, who is responsible for delivering it.”

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The council’s response also includes planning a public event so residents have the opportunity to hear directly from the agencies responsible for highways drainage, flood risk management and the sewer network.

Councillor Paul Stubbins said: “Lancashire County Council has important responsibilities as the Lead Local Flood Authority, including investigating significant flooding events. We are awaiting the county council’s report into the August flooding and will be looking closely at what it says.

“There is also some immediate work that can and should be done. We have secured an agreement from the county council Highways Department to clean the gullies on roads which were major routes for surface water flowing towards the lower areas that flooded. That should help, but it is only one part of the solution.

“The much bigger challenge is that there is currently no identified county council budget or team resource to deliver the significant sustainable drainage and surface water projects identified in the Surface Water Management Plan. That has to change.

“The plan identifies opportunities to slow and store surface water before it reaches the drainage network, including sustainable drainage schemes, as well as measures to address sewer capacity. The county council, as the Lead Local Flood Authority, needs to coordinate the relevant agencies and work with United Utilities to identify funding and move these plans into delivery.”

Councillor Bannon added: “As a result of the motion, we are organising an event where residents will be able to hear directly from and question County Highways officers, United Utilities and other key agencies. People living or running businesses in the areas affected by the August flooding will be invited to attend.

“There will be active promotion of Community Emergency Planning and information about measures people can take to protect their properties from flooding, with advice made available through the council’s website and community networks.

“There is no quick fix here. The August flooding exposed weaknesses that have been identified for some time, and the Surface Water Management Plan already provides a framework for addressing many of them.

“What we now need is for the responsible agencies to act on that plan, secure the necessary investment and work together to make Lancaster more resilient in the future.”

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