Draft Flood Risk Management Strategies and Local Flood Risk Management Plans

Overview

The Draft Flood Risk Management Strategies and Local Flood Risk Management Plans Consultation is being delivered by SEPA in partnership with local authorities across Scotland.

For the purposes of managing flood risk, Scotland has been split into fourteen catchment areas – known as Local Plan Districts (LPDs) - and there is a Flood Risk Management Strategy and Local Flood Risk Management Plan for each. Perth & Kinross Council is lead local authority for the Tay catchment and also has an involvement in three other catchments (the Tay Estuary & Montrose Basin, Forth and Forth Estuary).

The Consultation is being delivered by SEPA in two phases:

Phase one (opens in new browser tab) of the national consultation opened on the 21 December 2020 with draft information for the Flood Risk Management (FRM) Strategies available for review. This consists of background information for Local Plan Districts and Potentially Vulnerable Areas (PVAs) and identifies localised target areas.

In this second phase, draft information for the FRM Strategies and Local FRM Plans will be available with consultation questions. This includes the proposed objectives and potential actions to manage the identified flood risk.

This consultation is open for responses until 31 October 2021.

We encourage you to provide your views and shape the way that flood risk is managed in Scotland.

The second cycle of the FRM Strategies are due be published in December 2021, but due to delays in the consultation there is likely to be in a phased approach to this, subject to agreement with the Scottish Government. Lead local authorities are due to publish Local FRM Plans in June 2022. Both will take account of the views expressed during the forthcoming public consultation. 

If you have any enquiries regarding the consultation, please contact frmplanning@sepa.org.uk. Please enter 'FRM Consultation' in the subject line. You can also contact Perth & Kinross Council directly on 01738 457000, at flood@pkc.gov.uk or in writing at The Flooding Team, Communities Service, Perth & Kinross Council, Pullar House, 35 Kinnoull Street, Perth, PH1 5GD.

Why your views matter

It is estimated there are 8,700 homes and businesses at risk of flooding in Perth and Kinross. This equates to 1 in 12 residential properties and 1 in 7 businesses. The numbers of properties and businesses at risk will increase in the future due to the impact of climate change. 

The approach to tackling flooding in Scotland has changed in recent years. 

The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act (the 2009 Act) has introduced a more modern, coordinated and sustainable approach to flood risk management at both national and local levels. 

Local authorities, SEPA and Scottish Water have duties to work together to produce a national flood risk assessment, flood risk and hazard maps, Flood Risk Management (FRM) Strategies and Local FRM Plans. This process of risk assessment, mapping and planning is to be repeated every six years. 

The current FRM Strategies are being updated for publication and were developed to reduce the devastating impact of flooding in Scotland. The FRM Strategies underpin the Local FRM Plans which set out how flood risk will be managed and delivered locally. SEPA and local authorities have worked in partnership to develop and refine these updated Strategies and Plans. 

National Consultation 

The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act requires that the draft FRM Strategies and corresponding supplementary parts of Local FRM Plans be put to public consultation.  

This consultation will allow residents who have been impacted by flooding, or are concerned about it, to inform the final FRM Strategies and Plans. The Local FRM Plans will set out the actions the responsible authorities will undertake for the next 6 years from June 2022 to reduce overall flood risk. 

By responding to the consultation you can have your say on how flood risk is managed in Scotland in the future. Please do this by clicking on the link to the national consultation site in the "Give us your views" box below.

At a local level, this joint web-based public consultation will be publicised by: 

• Statutory notices in the Courier, the Stirling Observer and the Edinburgh Gazette. 

• The Perth & Kinross Council writing to community councils to notify them of the consultation and how to access it; 

• A link to the national online platform that will host the consultation is available below and on Perth & Kinross Council's FRM web page.

• Announcements will be posted on social media (the Perth & Kinross Council Facebook and Twitter pages). 

• Perth & Kinross Council will contact those who have recently been affected by flooding. 

What happens next

The second cycle of the FRM Strategies are due be published in December 2021, but due the delays to consultation there is likely to be in a phased approach to this, subject to agreement with the Scottish Government. Lead local authorities are due to publish Local FRM Plans in June 2022. Both will take account of any representations made or views expressed during this public consultation.