Issue - meetings

Report of Director of Service Delivery

Lead Cabinet member: Councillor Matthew Bird

(Key decision):

(1) To approve the strategic approach presented and agreed as follows:

a. To continue to provide governance, support and resource to the Natural Flood Management (NFM) programme beyond the current end date of March 2023 and to delegate authority to the Director of Service Delivery in consultation with the Cabinet member for recycling, waste and open spaces to negotiate the terms of and enter into any necessary agreements to facilitate this provision.

b. To build upon the NFM approach (as outlined in the report) and support inter-linked projects with partners and stakeholders such as habitat restoration and nature recovery in the Ouse catchment.

(2) To endorse the approach set out at Appendix 1 ‘Lewes District Council (LDC) Briefing: Natural Flood Management within the Ouse and Eastern Adur catchment’ and Appendix 2 ‘Wilder Ouse, Vision & Targets’.

(3) To approve a waiver to the Contract Procedure Rules (CPR) as set out in paragraph 2.4.1 (a) of the CPR to enable the Council to enter into agreements with partners in relation to this strategic approach.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Service Delivery, setting out the next steps for Natural Flood Management in Lewes District, which encompasses the Ouse and Eastern Adur catchments.

Policy and Performance Advisory Committee (PPAC), held on 1 December 2022 considered the report and were supportive of the officer recommendations in full. Councillor Boorman, Chair of Policy and Performance Advisory Committee, was in attendance to present PPAC’s discussion. Councillor Linington, Leader of the Opposition Group, also spoke on the item.

There was unanimous support and praise for the proposals and initiatives set out in the report. Thanks were conveyed in particular to Tim Bartlett, Specialist Advisor Coastal and Flood Risk Management (Green Consultancy) for his work undertaken on this initiative and others since 2016.

Councillor Bird declared a personal, non-pecuniary interest this item. He remained in the room and voted on the item.

Resolved (Key decision):

(1) To approve the strategic approach presented and agreed as follows:

a. To continue to provide governance, support and resource to the Natural Flood Management (NFM) programme beyond the current end date of March 2023 and to delegate authority to the Director of Service Delivery in consultation with the Cabinet member for recycling, waste and open spaces to negotiate the terms of and enter into any necessary agreements to facilitate this provision.

b. To build upon the NFM approach (as outlined in the report) and support inter-linked projects with partners and stakeholders such as habitat restoration and nature recovery in the Ouse catchment.

(2) To endorse the approach set out at Appendix 1 ‘Lewes District Council (LDC) Briefing: Natural Flood Management within the Ouse and Eastern Adur catchment’ and Appendix 2 ‘Wilder Ouse, Vision & Targets’.

(3) To approve a waiver to the Contract Procedure Rules (CPR) as set out in paragraph 2.4.1 (a) of the CPR to enable the Council to enter into agreements with partners in relation to this strategic approach.

Reason for decisions:

Lewes District Council has been successfully working in partnership delivering Natural Flood Management (NFM) projects with the Sussex Flow Initiative (SFI) and Ouse & Adur Rivers Trust (OART) since 2016. This approach has delivered a raft of benefits on which to build in a collaborative effort to improve climate resilience in the coming years.