Flood laws could 'marginalise' councils

New legislation being proposed following the 2007 floods will marginalise local councils, it has been claimed.

The Government's draft flood and water management bill aims to implement some of the key findings of a national review into the floods led by Sir Michael Pitt.

But council leaders in East Yorkshire say one of the review's main recommendations to give more power to local authorities to manage flood protection work within their areas has been diluted in the bill.

Instead, they claim key policy and funding responsibilities roles will remain with the Environment Agency, leaving them largely powerless.

Councillor Jonathan Owen, deputy leader of East Riding Council, said: "I have a huge concern this is going to be a fait accompli and that it will be pushed through.

"Local authorities are being told they will be given more responsibility but that has to come with more funding."

He said the council could end up with little scope to develop local flood prevention measures if they did not fit with regional or national priorities decided by the Environment Agency.

The council is already at loggerheads with the agency over its long-term plans for flood defences on the region's main rivers and along the coast.

Kristan Livingston, the East Riding's head of asset strategy, said another concern was changing the role of regional flood defence committees, which currently allocate funding for projects.

Under the proposals, the committees would largely become advisory.

Another of the bill's measures is a proposal for local councils to take responsibility for approving, adopting and maintaining new-build urban drainage systems to cope with periods of heavy rainfall.

But Mrs Livingston said the idea of funding this through switching responsibility for private sewers from councils to water companies was "nonsense" with no clear evidence that actual savings were possible.