North Yorkshire Council

 

Environment Executive Members

 

26 September 2025

 

Section 19 Investigation Report on the 06 May 2024 Flood Event in Knaresborough

 

Report of the Assistant Director Highways and Infrastructure

 

1.0       PURPOSE OF REPORT

 

1.1         To inform the Corporate Director of Environment, in consultation with the Executive Member for Highway and Transportation of the response of Risk Management Authorities to the significant flood event that affected Knaresborough on 06 May 2024.

 

1.2       To seek the approval of the Corporate Director of Environment, in consultation with the Executive Member for Highway and Transportation for the publication of the Section 19 Flood Investigation Report on the NYC website

 

 

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 6th May 2024 in Knaresborough.

 

3.0       THE NYC 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 Emergencies 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 report and the opportunity to comment, prior to its publication.

 

3.7       The report is also to be presented to the Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Committee on 25 September 2025.

 

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 Flood Risk Management Strategy and as required by Section 19(2)(a) of the FWMA.

 

4.2       Once published, the report may be accessed by following the link -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:

 

i.           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.

ii.         All risk management authorities to continue responsive service within the Knaresborough area.

iii.        Yorkshire Water to consider and implement appropriate options to manage the frequency and impact of surcharging of foul drainage on Park Avenue.

iv.        Yorkshire Water to continue to progress their Development and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMP).

v.         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 of flooding. 

vi.        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 report authors are existing Full Time Employees (FTE) within the LLFA team and costs absorbed as part of the team costs as officer time. 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 potentially re-prioritise its flood risk capital programme once full funding requirements are known.  

 

6.2       Whilst there is no guarantee of success, it is NYC’s intention to bid for Grant in Aid and Local Levy funding to meet the costs of taking forward some of the recommendations.  

 

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       EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS

 

8.1       An Equalities Impact Assessment is included as Appendix B of this report.

 

9.0       CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS

 

9.1       A Climate Change Impact Assessment is included as Appendix C and it is noted that publishing the Flood Investigation Report will help to improve the preparedness and resilience of the community to future flooding. Climate change predictions indicating that these type of storm events will become more frequent, so it is critical that communities play an active role in building resilience to the increasingly prevalent risk of flooding.

 

10.0     REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

 

10.1     To provide a narrative and historical record of the events of 6th 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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11.0

RECOMMENDATION(S)

 

11.1

It is recommended that the Corporate Director of Environment, in consultation with the Executive Member for Highway and Transportation:

 

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 6th May 2024 and the future action recommended improve the preparedness and resilience of the community to future flooding.

ii)       Approve the publication of the Section 19 Report on the Council’s website

 

 

APPENDICES:

 

Appendix A – Section 19 Flood Investigation Report - Knaresborough

Appendix B – EIA Screening Form

Appendix C – Climate Change

 

 

Barrie Mason

Assistant Director– Highways and Infrastructure

County Hall

Northallerton

17/09/2025

 

Report Author – Finlay Kell, Lead Local Flood Authority Engineer and Meirion Jones, Lead Local Flood Authority 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.