Appendix 1, Lead Member for Transport and Environment

Proposed · This went to the meeting on Mon 20 Jul 2026. What was decided is in that meeting's minutes.

East Sussex County Council has produced a draft Local Flood Risk Management Strategy for 2027 to 2037, replacing the previous strategy which ran from 2016 to 2026. p3

As the county's Lead Local Flood Authority, East Sussex County Council is responsible for managing flood risk from surface water, ordinary watercourses and groundwater, while also considering the impact of flooding from rivers and the sea. p3

The strategy identifies the top 10% most impacted areas as 'Priority Areas' for flood management, based on an assessment of flood risk and levels of deprivation. p103

The strategy will be formally reviewed on a five-yearly cycle, with the first review expected in 2031. p141

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• p3Executive Summary East Sussex County Council has produced this Local Flood Risk Management Strategy as part of our duties as a Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA). This strategy runs 2027 – 2037 and replaces the previous strategy which ran 2016 – 2026. As LLFA, East Sussex County Council has responsibility for the management of flood risk from surface water, ordinary watercourses and groundwater. However, other sources of flooding including that from rivers and the sea have a significant influence on a community’s overall flood risk and for this reason this strategy has considered the impact of flooding from all sources. The development of the strategy has focused on identifying where the impact of flooding on communities would be greatest and creating a clear framework of how the LLFA will work alongside other risk management authorities and communities to help manage and reduce those impacts. The impact of flooding on communities is influenced by multiple factors, including those not directly linked to the location of flooding. For example, a non-flooded community may still be impacted by flooding if the flood waters elsewhere stop public transport running or force the local school to close. The strategy has been designed to acknowledge, assess and consider indirect impacts alongside direct impacts of flooding. East Sussex County Council acknowledges that working in partnership with others will be key to successfully managing and reducing the impact of flooding. To ensure partnership working is embedded into the strategy, and our flood management framework, engagement with key risk management authorities has been integral to the production of this strategy. During its lifetime the strategy will:
• p103· The Flood Impact Ranking o Which took the flood risk ranking findings and added consideration of each LSOA’s index of deprivation score, creating a ranking from areas with the highest likely impact of flooding to the lowest likely impact of flooding. For the purposes of the strategy the Flood Impact Assessment and resulting Ranking Table is considered the most relevant for flood management. The complete flood impact ranking table for the present-day impact of flooding is available to view in “Appendix 1: Flood Impact Ranking”. This represented spatially at Appendix 3 which shows The top 10% most impacted by flooding LSOAs have been classified as ‘Priority Areas’ in terms of flood management. In addition to determining which LSOAs are most impacted by flooding the assessments also allowed analysis of the flood risk posed to select key infrastructure types. Key infrastructure types for further analysis were selected based on the potential impact the temporary loss of these features could have on communities. Table 3 sets out the percentage of those select key infrastructure types located at high, medium and low flood risk from any combination of rivers, the sea and surface water sources.
• p141Monitoring and Review The strategy has set out a series of objectives and measures which will inform the Action Plan. The Action Plan is a dynamic, live document used to identify potential projects which aim to address the strategy’s objectives and measures. To ensure the Action Plan remains up to date and active the LLFA will undertake an annual review of the plan and progress of any actions will be reported on. In addition to the annual review of the Action Plan a formal review of the entire strategy will be undertaken on a five-yearly cycle, in accordance with the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, with the first review expected to occur in 2031. In addition to these reviews, further updates and reviews are expected to be required following the Local Government Devolution and Reorganisation which are likely to alter the roles of Risk Management Authorities, especially in relation to the roles currently held by ESCC and District and Borough Councils.