Have your say on how to tackle flood risk

Rochdale residents are being invited to have a say on how local flood risks are managed in the borough.

From Monday 28 October to Friday 29 November, a five week public consultation will give local people the opportunity to help shape polices about flood risks in Rochdale.

Residents are being asked to share their views on the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy prepared by Rochdale Borough Council. The strategy sets out the Council’s statutory responsibilities as a Lead local Flood Authority and how it proposes to work with other bodies with responsibilities for managing flood risk including the Environment Agency and United Utilities. Its main focus is on the Council’s responsibilities for surface water and also flooding from rivers which is a shared responsibility with the Environment Agency.

The strategy can viewed on the council’s website at www.rochdale.gov.uk/consultations and residents can comment on the plans via an online survey on the ‘consultations’ page, by letter or by email. The strategy can also be viewed at Rochdale Central Library and main branch libraries in Heywood, Littleborough and Middleton.

Councillor Peter Williams, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Customer Services, said: “With previous serious flooding incidents in the borough we have seen first-hand how flooding can change places and lives and disrupt our economy and its effects can be hard to recover from. We can’t remove all risk from floods but we can take steps to reduce it significantly and be better prepared to deal with flooding and its effects.

“It really is important that as many people as possible let us know their thoughts. It is their opportunity to shape the strategy and a chance to influence how we reduce the possibility of flooding in areas at greatest risk.”

Residents can have their say on the strategy’s aims and plans which include:

•  to ensure residents, communities, developers and businesses in areas of high flood risk are better informed and prepared to help reduce the impact of flooding on their properties
• work closely with partners to improve drainage systems and flood defences to reduce risk in the borough now and for the future and ensure that development is well located and contributes to managing flood risk better
• encourage better land management near to bodies of water.

It also highlights that whilst flood risk can be found throughout the borough, there are some areas where that risk is higher such as in Littleborough, central Rochdale and Heywood where flood risk from either rivers, surface water or a combination of the two are amongst the most significant in Greater Manchester and the North West.

The strategy, which will be reviewed every three to five years, is a statutory requirement through the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

For further details or if you wish to discuss anything in the strategy, please contact strategic.planning@rochdale.gov.uk or telephone 01706 924376.