Lead local flood authority

This designates all County Councils or Unitary Authorities with certain duties and powers associated with local flood risk. Local flood risk is defined within the Act as that caused by surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses.

These duties and powers include: 

• to hold and maintain a Local Flood Risk Management Strategy;
• to investigate instances of flooding;
• a duty to maintain a register of significant flood defence structures and features;
• powers to regulate maintenance and changes made to ordinary watercourses;
• a role as statutory consultee for major planning applications to promote the use of sustainable drainage.  

Strategies and plans 

There are a number of plans and strategies in place to manage the risk of flooding in the borough. 

The main plan is the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy, however there is also: 

• National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy.
• Catchment Management Plans (CMP).
• Flood Risk Management Plans (FRMP) 2021-2027.
• Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment (PFRA)  

Flood liaison group 

The council hosts the flood liaison group as a forum for parish councils and councillors to raise issues directly to officers of the risk management authorities which have responsibilities for different sources of flood risk. These meetings are chaired by a borough councillor with the council, Environment Agency and Thames Water attending to provide information to the forum.

Thames Regional Flood Coastal Committee 

As a Lead Local Flood Authority, the council works with the Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee who have an important role in allocating government funding for flood defence and mitigation schemes.

Flooding emergencies

The LLFA assists in the responses to flooding emergencies  that occur in the borough.

For more information about preparation, response and recovery for flooding see our Extreme Weather webpages.