Appendix B
Argyll and Bute Council · 11 September 2025
Back to Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee — 11 September 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Appendix B – LPD Wide Actions which cover the whole Local Plan District (LPD). Columns C (RAG Status) and D (RAG status comment) have been populated with current standing / status on actions from the Flood Risk Management Team. Contributions and review by Planning and Civil Contingencies team where appropriate. Next step is to provide this information to Highland Council for inclusion in the formalised S37 Interim Report.
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Classification: OFFICIAL# Action General description RAG status - Interim Report RAG status comment Awareness raising SEPA, the Responsible Authorities and other organisations such as the Scottish Flood Forum work together through national and local initiatives to help communities understand the risk of flooding and what actions individuals can take. Improved awareness of flood risk and actions that prepare individuals, homes and businesses for flooding can reduce the overall impact of flooding. Local authorities will undertake additional awareness raising activities when developing any specific project proposals and will engage with community resilience groups and local communities. Scottish Flood Forum support flood risk communities by raising community awareness, promoting self-help, developing community groups and establish a recovery support programme after a flood. GREEN Argyll and Bute Council have promoted flood advice for property owners and landowners on our website https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/transport-and-streets/flood-advice. In addition, we are now working with our Climate Change Officer and ABCAN to support communities in carrying out area-based risk assessments and, where possible, implementing local mitigation measures. This work highlights the importance of embedding community resilience, particularly in areas where flood risk has been identified Data to support climate resilience As Scotland’s hydrometric authority, SEPA operates a network of stations to measure river level, flow, rainfall, sea level, loch and groundwater level. The data goes into a long term data archive and is critical to underpin all flood risk management activities including flood warning, flood mapping, design of flood protection and sustainable development as well as supporting a range of regulatory and recreational uses. SEPA will continue to maintain and develop its hydrometric network, contribute to UK and international data archives, and improve and update the datasets used for flood frequency analysis. SEPA will support research and development of data, methods and guidance to improve the evidence on which decisions can be made, and to enable the impact of climate change to be included in all flood risk management activities. Emergency plans Many organisations, including local authorities, the emergency services and SEPA provide an emergency response to flooding. Emergency plans are prepared and maintained under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 by Category 1 and 2 Responders and are coordinated through regional and local resilience partnerships, often supported by voluntary organisations. They set out the steps to be taken to maximise safety and minimise impacts during flooding. Emergency plans may also be prepared by individuals, businesses, organisations or communities. Scottish Water is a Category 2 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and will support regional and local resilience partnerships as required GREEN Argyll and Bute benefits from a highly effective and well-established Local Resilience Partnership, which works collaboratively to ensure strong preparedness and coordinated responses to disruptive challenges. Its capabilities are regularly tested and proven in real situations. We take reassurance in knowing that, regardless of the cause of any incident, the consequences are effectively managed through this partnership and the tactical response groups within the Council and HSCP. Flood forecasting The Scottish Flood Forecasting Service is a partnership between SEPA and the Met Office. The service continues to produce a daily, national flood guidance statement, issued to emergency responders, local authorities, and other organisations with flood risk management duties. In 2022 a new 3-day daily Scottish Flood Forecast was launched for the public. As the flood warning authority for Scotland SEPA continues to provide its flood warning service issuing flood alerts and warnings when required, giving people a better chance of reducing the impact of flooding on their home or business. Flood warning development framework SEPA published a new flood warning development framework in 2022, which details the ambition and strategic actions to maintain and improve the flood warning service across Scotland. SEPA will further develop phase 1 of the Scottish Flood Forecast based on feedback gathered during public beta release before fully launching the service to the public formally in early 2023. Phase 1 is the national 3-day flood forecast and the starting point of our journey in providing the public with earlier and improved flood information. SEPA will continue to follow the service design approach for phase 2 of the Scottish Flood Forecast, which will provide the public with more localised flood forecast information. User research will determine what information will be displayed on the regional flood forecast webpages. It is anticipated that the final service will bring together all live information such as flood warnings, river levels and rainfall data into a central hub that is easily accessible for the public. Working in close partnership with the Met Office through the Scottish Flood Forecasting Service, SEPA will develop its capability in surface water flooding forecasting, focusing initially on the transport sector to support climate-ready infrastructure. SEPA will also undertake a prioritised improvement programme of existing river and coastal flood warning schemes to provide more accurate forecasting with improved lead time. Future flood risk management planning The years covered by the lifetime of this plan are crucial. Radical progress is needed in how we reduce our impact on the climate and respond to the effects of climate change. How we plan to manage flooding to our communities is on the front line of the challenges of this decade. The 2027 flood risk management plans will be more ambitious than ever before. The plans will look to develop long term plans for more flood resilient communities prepared for the impacts of climate change. The priority areas which will be the focus points of the next flood risk management plans will be identified in 2024 with the designation of PVAs. A 3-month public consultation will be held to inform the PVA designation. We will plan for a better future by publishing our flooding services strategy in 2023 with a clear and measurable delivery plan. We will put greener, fairer communities at the heart of our ambitions. SEPA has set its own target to be a regenerative organisation by 2030 and the next set of plans will further this ambition. During this plan cycle, SEPA will work to develop new partnerships with a wider range of stakeholders, including businesses and commercial sectors. We will investigate alternative sources of finance to tackle flooding and drive forward practical options for adaptation. GREEN Argyll and Bute Council and The Highland Council reaffirms their commitment to supporting SEPA in the development of Flood Risk Management Plans. The Councils will work closely with communities through consultation on the preparation of Local Flood Risk Management Plans during 2026 and 2027. Guidance development The Scottish Government and SEPA have developed and updated guidance to inform flood risk management projects. This guidance has be produced in 2022 and will look at how best to adapt to the long-term impacts of climate change and the most appropriate methods of assessing the benefits of flood risk management actions. Technical guidance to support flood risk management partners will be reviewed and updated by SEPA where required. Scottish Forestry, in collaboration with its UK counterparts, will produce guidance on designing and managing forests to reduce flood risk. Guidance will be developed to help local authorities understand the requirements for mapping relevant bodies of water and sustainable urban drainage systems in their areas. Hazard mapping updates An understanding of flooding is essential to develop a plan led risk-based approach to flood risk management. SEPA will continue to update their national hazard mapping, which shows the likelihood of flooding in Scotland from different flooding sources: https://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/water/flooding/flood-maps/. SEPA will continue to develop the hazard mapping viewer to make it easier for the public, partners and stakeholders to access data on the likelihood of flooding. SEPA will also review how modelling and mapping updates are undertaken to develop a more effective method of regional and national updates for the hazard maps. # SW Internal General
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Classification: OFFICIAL# Land use planning Local authorities, SEPA and Scottish Water all have a responsibility under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 to support sustainable flood risk management through the land use planning process. National planning policies set out the Scottish Ministers’ priorities for the development and use of land. Under this approach, new development in areas with medium to high likelihood of flooding should generally be avoided. Current national planning policies aim to restrict development within the floodplain and limit exposure of new receptors to flood risk, promote flood reduction via natural and structural flood management measures and restoration of natural features, and avoid increased surface water flooding through sustainable drainage and the minimisation of impermeable surfaces. Locally determined planning policies place further requirements within their area of operation to restrict inappropriate development and prevent unacceptable risk. GREEN Argyll and Bute Council Flood Risk Management Team continue to assess minor planning applications to ensure compliance with National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) and to confirm that new developments do not increase flood risk to communities or existing infrastructure. The Team also also works closely with the Local Development Plan teams for ABC and Loch Lomond National Park to ensure that Strategic Flood Risk Assessments address known risks within Argyll and Bute. Maintenance Local authorities have a duty to assess bodies of water and to carry out clearance and repair works where such works would substantially reduce flood risk. Local authorities are also responsible for the drainage of roads. In addition, local authorities may also be responsible for maintenance of any existing flood protection schemes or works. Scottish Water will continue to undertake risk-based inspection, maintenance and repair on the public sewer network. Asset owners and riparian landowners are responsible for the maintenance and management of their own assets including those which help to reduce flood risk. GREEN Argyll and Bute Council are developing the WDM WebFRMS asset management system for recording the assessment and clearing ofrelevant bodies of water. The system will allow the publication of a schedule of clearance and repair works online. The WebFRMS system is being effectively built from the ground up of the basic operating framework, rather than implementing any existing system and is therefore expected to be significantly more aligned with Council requirements, but take longer to finalise. Development of the system is progressing well during 2025 and it is expected that a full implementation will be in place by early 2026. Natural flood management mapping SEPA will continue to support activities that improve our understanding of how to effectively target and deliver natural flood management. As part of this, SEPA will review and update the opportunities mapping for natural flood management. This will include linking blue-green infrastructure with the surrounding natural catchment and coastline. Natural flood management seeks to store or slow down flood waters through measures such as the planting of woodlands, wetland creation, river restoration, or the creation of intertidal habitats. In addition to flooding benefits, natural flood management measures can also provide many additional benefits to biodiversity, water quality, recreation, and carbon storage. National flood risk assessment SEPA will use the most suitable data to review and update the national flood risk assessment (NFRA) undertaken in 2018. This update will be used to identify future potentially vulnerable areas and focus flood risk management planning. National surface water mapping The national flood risk assessment 2018 identified that surface water flooding has the potential to impact more properties in Scotland than any other source of flooding. Over the next 6 year cycle SEPA will look to vastly improve its national understanding of surface flood risk by undertaking a wholescale update of the national surface water maps to reflect developments in data and understanding, including the impact of climate change Reservoirs SEPA will continue to develop its assessment of flood risk from dam failure and use these assessments to direct a proportionate regulatory approach to ensure reservoir safety. Over the next management cycle we will implement further developments of our flood warning capabilities in the unlikely event of reservoir failure. Scottish Flood Defence Asset Database The Scottish Flood Defence Asset Database provides information on existing flood protection schemes. National data on flood protection infrastructure is needed to understand flood risk and to develop adaptation planning for Scotland. SEPA will continue to host SFDAD and look for opportunities to support the development of our understanding of how and when Scotland’s flood defence assets should be adapted to continue to maintain protection from flooding in the future. GREEN Argyll and Bute Council will store asset information on all flood protection and alleviation works in the WebFRMS asset register. The development of this new The WebFRMS system is being effectively built from the ground up of the basic operating framework, rather than implementing any existing system and is therefore expected to be significantly more aligned with Council requirements, but take longer to finalise. Development of the system is progressing well during 2025 and it is expected that a full implementation will be in place by early 2026. Self help Everyone is responsible for protecting themselves and their property from flooding. People can take steps to reduce damage and disruption to their homes and businesses should flooding happen. This includes preparing a flood plan and flood kit, installing property flood resilience measures, signing up to Floodline, engaging with their local flood group, and ensuring that properties and businesses are insured against flood damage. The following places offer help with taking steps to protect yourself: https://www.floodre.co.uk/ GREEN Argyll and Bute Council continue to sign post communities and individuals to sources of help with respect to improving property resiliance through its Flood Advice webpage, answering public enquiries regarding flood issues and through the work of the Scottish Flood Forum # SW Internal General