North Yorkshire Council
Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Committee
25 September 2025
Section 19 Investigation Report on the 06 May 2024 Flood Event in Knaresborough
Report of the Corporate Director – Environment
1.0 Purpose of Report
1.1 To inform Members on the conclusions and recommendations of the Flood Investigation report on the significant flood event that affected Knaresborough on 06 May 2024.
2.0 BACKGROUND
2.1 Section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act (2010) (FWMA) requires Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFA’s) to investigate flooding incidents.
2.2 When a flooding incident has occurred, the Act requires LLFA’s to investigate which Risk Management Authorities have relevant flood risk management functions, and whether each of those Risk Management Authorities has exercised, or is proposing to exercise, those functions in response to the flood. Where a LLFA carries out an investigation, it is required to publish the results of its investigation and notify any relevant Risk Management Authorities.
2.3 North Yorkshire Council’s Flood Risk Management Team investigates all reported incidents of flooding accordingly, in a manner proportionate to the specific characteristics of the incident. The nature of the investigation may vary from a site visit and a data collection exercise, allowing officers to understand responsibilities and any action required by the relevant Risk Management Authorities, to a more formal investigation to be published under the FWMA (2010).
2.4 The NY Flood Risk Strategy identifies the characteristics of a flood incident to be used to determine whether or not it is appropriate to undertake a formal Section19 Investigation in the aftermath of a flood, these are listed below:
· Level of support and engagement from other Risk Management Authorities
· Number of properties internally flooded
· The depth, area or velocity of flooding reported
· The frequency of flooding in a given location
· The nature or extent of critical infrastructure impacted by the flood
· The nature or source of requests for an investigation received by NYCC
· Whether the flood relates to a known issue
2.5 If an event fulfils one or more of these criteria, a formal investigation is progressed accordingly, and application of this principle has led to the undertaking of formal section 19 investigations concerning the event on 06 May 2024 in Knaresborough.
3.0 THE NYCC SECTION 19 REPORT PROCESS
3.1 The information contained in the reports is collected through requests for data to all relevant risk management authorities, using the lead local flood authority powers under section 14 of the flood and water management act (2010).
3.2 In the period following the flooding, the flood risk management team were on hand working remotely from the Chain Lane Community Hub in partnership with the Resilience and Emergency Team to assist and talk to residents about their experiences and to offer guidance and advice on the next steps of the investigation process.
3.3 As part of the emergencies and resilience leaflet drop to all the households, details of the investigation and contact details for the flood risk management team were shared, along with our presence at the Chain Lane Hub. A number of residents responded to our call for evidence by completing the post flood incident questionnaire and a number submitted further comprehensive accounts of the flooding.
3.4 Firsthand accounts were all taken into consideration within the report to ensure the shared concerns of the community were answered.
3.5 North Yorkshire Councillors and the Town Council representing the affected areas were also given opportunity to peruse the draft report and ensure that the content accurately reflected local understanding, where first hand evidence had been submitted and were invited to a meeting to ask any further questions arising from the information in it.
3.6 The relevant Risk Management Authorities identified within the report have had sight of the final draft of the and the opportunity to comment, prior to its publication.
4.0 PUBLICATION OF THE REPORT
4.1 The full report is included as Appendix A to this report. Subject to approval, the report will be published on our website in accordance with our local strategy and as required by Section 19(2)(a) of the FWMA. A report recommending approval of the publication of the Section 19 Investigation Report will be considered by the Corporate Director, Environment in consultation with the Executive Member, Highways and Transportation at their meeting on 26 September 2025.
4.2 Once published, the report may be accessed by following the link below:
http://www.northyorks.gov.uk/floodinvestigations
5.0 FUTURE ACTION
5.1 The following recommendations are made as a result of the conclusions of the Section 19 report:
5.2 Subject to funding eligibility, the LLFA to assess the potential for property level resilience in areas where multiple properties (including Businesses) are at risk from repeated events.
5.3 All risk management authorities to continue responsive service within the Knaresborough area.
5.4 Yorkshire Water to consider and implement appropriate options to manage the frequency and impact of surcharging of foul drainage on Park Avenue.
5.5 Yorkshire Water to continue the development of their Development and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMP)
5.6 Where opportunities are identified either through the DWMP, or Combined Sewer Overflow Reduction plans and where funding sources are identified, YW and NYC to work collaboratively to maximise opportunities to separate surface water and foul drainage by promoting the use of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) to reduce the impacts on flooding.
5.7 All risk management authorities to work with the communities to encourage and promote improved level of resilience. With the impacts of climate change becoming ever clearer, it is critical that communities play an active role in helping themselves to be resilient to the increasingly prevalent risk of flooding.
6.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
6.1 There are no financial implications in publishing the report which is a statutory obligation. The recommendations arising from the report are subject to available funding. If and when any grant funding is made available, NYC will need to review and re-prioritise its flood risk capital programme to understand the full funding requirements.
7.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
7.1 This report and its recommendations are consistent with the discharge of the Council’s duty to investigate flooding as set out in the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 and the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy.
7.2 Information has been requested and provided by other risk management authorities in line with its powers under Section 14 of the Flood and Water Management Act.
8.0 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
8.1 To provide a narrative and historical record of the events of 06 May 2024 in Knaresborough, and make recommendation on future work to improve the preparedness and resilience of the communities to flooding, whilst ensuring compliance with NYCs statutory obligation under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010
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9.0 |
RECOMMENDATIONS
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9.1 |
It is recommended that the Members: i) Note the content of the Section 19 report and the response of Risk Management Authorities to the significant flood event that affected Knaresborough on 06 May 2024 and the future action recommended to improve the preparedness and resilience of the community to future flooding.
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APPENDICES:
Appendix A – Section 19 Flood Investigation Report - Knaresborough
Background documents: None
Karl Battersby
Corporate Director – Environment Services
County Hall
Northallerton
17 September 2025
Report Author – Finlay Kell, LLFA Engineer, Meirion Jones, LLFA Team Leader
Presenter of Report – Meirion Jones, Lead Local Flood Authority Team Leader
Note: Members are invited to contact the author in advance of the meeting with any detailed queries or questions.