Council slammed over 'failure' to assess flood risk for Herts developments

Three Rivers District Council leader Sarah Nelmes and deputy Stephen Giles-Medhurst says the county council has a legal duty to provide a “substantive” response as the lead local flood authority.

In October 2021, Cllr Giles-Medhurst said the council told them it could no longer provide advice to district and borough councils due to staffing issues.

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Cllr Giles-Medhurst, who is also responsible for infrastructure and planning policy in Three Rivers, said: “We have had to take the unusual and potentially expensive step of commissioning expert advice where planning officers consider it appropriate that they cannot give the planning committee its full advice on how to determine a major planning application.

“This will at least protect the council's legal duties but frankly we need the county council to get its act together for the benefit of not just Three Rivers residents but the whole of Hertfordshire."

Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst

In a letter to the county council’s chief executive and chief legal officer on July 7, Liberal Democrat members Cllr Giles-Medhurst and Cllr Nelmes called for the provision of flooding advice on major planning applications to be “immediately restored”.

Cllr Nelmes added: "It’s a serious issue that could delay the issuing of planning permissions or indeed issuing permissions without getting the right advice.

“It's already been nine months since the county council stopped providing the legally-required service and whilst we all have staffing issues, it's not even saying when this will be restored and we have major applications to consider."

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County Hall, Hertfordshire County Council offices. Credit: Jack Hill (Image: Jack Hill/Google)

The county council’s Conservative lead member for infrastructure and planning, Stephen Boulton, and his deputy Jonathan Kaye were approached for comment.

The county council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service in November last year: “We currently have a number of vacancies in the team that provides flooding, drainage and watercourse advice for planning applications which we are finding it very challenging to fill.

"This means we are having to prioritise our work while we try and recruit staff to those roles.”

Cllr Giles-Medhurst says he has been “promised” advice for major planning applications “over the coming months” following his recent letter.

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