Havering Local Flood Risk Management Strategy Consultation

We carried out a consultation between 16 October and 29 November 2024 to seek views on Havering’s draft Local Flood Risk Management Strategy (LFRMS) and to help us understand our resident’s personal encounters with flooding and their awareness of the measures taken by the council and others that can help towards the prevention of flooding.

The strategy sets out the risk of flooding in the borough and the actions that the Council and other partner organisations such as the Environment Agency, Water Companies and Highways Authorities can take to manage the risk.  It focuses on the risk of flooding from small watercourses, surface water (the overland runoff after heavy rainfall) and groundwater.

48 responses were received to the online consultation.

• 44 responses were received from the public (92%),
• 4 were from other stakeholders (8%), which included the London Riverside Business Improvement District (BID) and the Roding, Beam and Ingrebourne (RBI) Catchment Partnership.
• The Environment Agency did not complete the online questionnaire but shared their response via email to the LLFA.  
• Thames Water did not submit a formal response but participated actively in the stakeholder workshops during the review of the LFRMS and Action Plan.

Awareness of flood risk

• 88% of participants responded that they were aware of flooding in the borough, and 12% of participants said that they were not aware. 
• 21% of participants had been directly affected by flooding in their property.
• The majority of the participants were very concerned about flooding in their community.  69% of the participants rated their concern as 5 (highest degree of concern) and 16% of participants rated it as 4, with 15% of participants rating it as 1-3 (lower concern).

Response to flooding

• If there was a risk of immediate flooding, 35% of respondents would contact three emergency responders: the Environment Agency, the Council and the emergency services. 
• Of the 40% of respondents who said they would use a single contact, 23% said emergency services, 11% said the Environment Agency and the council, with 17% of respondents not knowing who to contact.

Barriers to managing flooding

• The top three barriers were:  I don’t have the information I need (14 responses), I need more technical assistance (12 responses) and I don’t have enough time (5 responses).

Objectives

• The majority of respondents (81%) felt that there was a need for more public education on flood risks and preparedness.
• Respondents suggested a range of flood-related information and resources which included printed leaflets, social media posts, emails and text messages.
• Just over half of respondents (52%) understood the roles of different organisations, 20% did not understand them and 24% were not sure.
• 44% of respondents knew about the role the Council have in managing flooding, which was joint with those who did not know (44%), and 12% said they were unsure.
• 83% of respondents felt that the current drainage infrastructure in the borough is inadequate.  6% felt that is adequate.
• The use of sustainable drainage solutions (eg permeable paving, green infrastructure) in the borough was widely supported by respondents (83%), 2% did not support its use and 9% were not sure.
• Just over half of respondents (52%) said they would be willing to adopt sustainable drainage on their property, with 10% who would not be willing, 19% were unsure and 15% chose ‘other’.

Strategy

• Just over half of respondents (53%) understood what the draft strategy is about and why it has been done, 15% did not understand and 21% were unsure.

Action Plan

• The majority of participants (45%) felt that the actions were not ambitious enough, 23% were not sure, 21% were happy with the ambition and 11% felt that they were too ambitious.
• The actions which participants felt were missing from the action plan included:
  • Nature-based solutions
  • Collaborative working
  • Scheme to help homeowners implement measures on their properties
  • Community involvement

Practical Information and how to improve the strategy

Suggestions for additional evidence in the strategy included:

• • Statistics on flooding
  • Information on gully maintenance
  • How the Strategy aligns with wider London
  • Areas of flood risk
  • What actions will be implemented and who is responsible
  • What is already being done within Havering
  • Nature-based solutions
  • Yearly updates published about progress

Respondents also recommended how to improve the strategy, which included:

• • To be made more user friendly and simplified
  • To be organised into local areas
  • To include collaborative working

The consultation results are being reviewed and will be included in a draft report to inform our new Local Flood Risk Management Strategy.