Local Flood Risk Management Strategy

It is not possible to prevent all flooding, but it is possible to consider the risks faced and ways to manage the risks, likelihoods and consequences.

The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 places a responsibility upon the Vale of Glamorgan Council, as Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA), to develop, maintain, apply and monitor a strategy for local flood risk management (a ‘Local Strategy’). In the development of a Local Strategy, the LLFA will balance the needs of communities, the economy and the environment.

Following the nationwide flooding of 2007, the UK Government gave local authorities new powers to help manage local flood risk in a more coordinated way. The Flood and Water Management Act requires Councils to lead the coordination of flood risk management for surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses in their area.

The Local Strategy will form the framework within which communities have a greater say in local risk management decisions. In combination with the Welsh Government’s National Strategy for Flood and Coastal Erosion in Wales, the Local Strategies will encourage more effective risk management by enabling riparian owners, communities, business and the public sector to work together.

The Local Strategy considers the potential effects on flood risk and the environment posed by development, existing infrastructure, maintenance procedures and how the risks can be best managed.