Local politicians have welcomed the independent review into flooding announced by Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru. Heledd Fychan, Plaid Cymru MS for South Wales Central and Councillor Andrew Morgan, the Labour leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, have given their reaction to the review which is part of the co-operation agreement between the Labour Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru.
The independent review of flooding events across Wales during the winter of 2020-21 will be led by one of the UK’s leading barristers Elwen Evans QC with the aim of helping to ensure Wales learns from previous flooding events and embeds good practice for the future. The review will consider evidence from investigations carried out by councils and Natural Resources Wales, as well as other relevant reports.
Elwen Evans QC will look to establish key findings, shared concerns, lessons learned, successes and good practice and identify areas for improvement. Rhondda Cynon Taf in particular was devastated by floods especially during Storm Dennis in February 2020 and the council has released 13 section 19 reports which have identified the causes of flooding in specific areas of RCT and what the response of the authorities has been with another six reports due to come out.
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Heledd Fychan, who was a Plaid Cymru councillor for Pontypridd Town when Storm Dennis hit, said: “I very much welcome the independent review into the floods, and the appointment of Elwen Evans QC. Over two years since the devastation in 2020, not all reports into the floods have been published and residents and business owners still don’t know what happened or why, or whether their homes and businesses will be safe from flooding in the future.
"People remain traumatised by what happened, and still do not feel secure in their homes every time it rains heavily. With climate change meaning the likelihood of flooding continues to grow, we must ensure that we understand what can be done by local councils and the government to support those affected, but vitally reduce the risk to our communities. These events are likely to repeat themselves more frequently in all parts of Wales, so learning the lessons of these floods are vital. I welcome the fact that Plaid Cymru has been able to secure a review, which is an important first step in securing answers and justice for everybody that was affected.”
Cllr Morgan said “The council welcomes the review initiated by the First Minister Mark Drakeford and the Welsh Government, which will importantly seek to ensure that the public sector is well prepared for the greater frequency of severe weather events which will inevitably occur as a consequence of climate change. Since Storm Dennis, the council has invested significant time and resources to mitigate the risk of flood events, with works not reliant upon a Section 19 report (under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010) being published or a review or enquiry taking place.
“Risk Management Authorities start exercising their functions as soon as there is a flood event, for example, in relation to the Section 19 report focusing on Pentre published in July 2021, 17 functions had already been exercised before publication of the report. This means that while it is impossible to prevent a severe weather event, or a storm of the magnitude of Storm Dennis having a significant impact upon communities, our preparedness and resilience has been strengthened further through the significant investments we have made over the last two years.
“The council has completed more than 50 projects in communities relating to flood alleviation, and is developing more than 50 others. It has also provided more than 400 sets of interim flood resistant equipment (for example, expandable barriers) to the highest risk properties.
“The council has also set up a dedicated control room to assist with flood event preparation and response, which links up with an expanded network of over 35 monitoring stations and CCTV cameras on high risk assets. The total investment in flood alleviation within RCT since Storm Dennis was more than £13m by the end of March 2022 – which does not include significant funding in place to progress further investments during 2022/23.
“As a council we welcome the opportunity to provide information and evidence to the review and for all public sector bodies to review their procedures to be as prepared as possible for future flood events.” The Welsh Government said that Wales has experienced a rapid increase in the frequency of storm and flood events than at any other time in recorded history.
It said that heavy rainfall and storms are likely to become more frequent as a result of climate change. It added that the announcement of the independent review follows the record £214m investment in flood risk as part of the co-operation agreement between Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru, which it said will protect at least 45,000 homes.
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