Communities facing delays into flood inquiry reports

Somerset communities hit by flooding are facing long delays before seeing council reports, which could help prevent future incidents, due to staffing issues.

Several parts of Somerset suffered from severe localised flooding between May 2023 and January 2024, with nearly 300 residential and commercial properties being affected.

Whenever more than 10 properties are affected by severe localised flooding, Somerset Council can commission a "section 19 report" to investigate the causes of the event and put forward ideas of how to prevent similar disruption in future.

An update on the lack of progress on the reports was published ahead of the council's Climate and Place Scrutiny Committee meeting in Bridgwater on 20 March, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

It said due to a lack of personnel, the first report into each of the floods was not expected until Christmas – and some communities might be waiting even longer.

Council officers, including a dedicated flood investigation officer, who was appointed in November, are currently dealing with a backlog of several major flooding investigations.

The first of these concerns the flooding on 9 and 10 May last year, when multiple towns and villages within the River Cam catchment in the east of Somerset were hit with flooding following “intense localised thunder and hailstorms”.

There is a separate report into flooding in and Milverton during the same period, and a third report looking into a storm that left homes in Minehead, Wellington and Withycombe under water in September 2023, while roads were left damaged.

Anna Meares, the council’s flood investigation officer, said in her written report: “Flooding is a sensitive topic due to loss of property and livelihood. Recurring flooding leaves residents anxious of repeat events.

“Reports need to be published so lessons can be learned, mitigations put in place, repeat events avoided and flood responses improved.

“Ordinarily, investigations would be started and completed within 12 months of a flood event."

She added: "In this instance, our flood and coastal team were unable to resource this function and temporary staffing has had to be sought, leading to delays.”

The backlog of section 19 reports means that the council only recently published its final report into the floods that hit the Shepton Mallet area in October 2020.

The reports into the floods of May 2023 and September 2023 are currently predicted to be published before Christmas.

The reports into the floods of December 2023 and January 2024 are not set to be completed and published until the early summer of 2025.