North Yorkshire Council

 

Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Committee

 

24 March 2026

 

Progress Report on the Recommendation of the Section 19 Investigation Report into the 06 May 2024 Flood Event in Knaresborough

 

Report of the Corporate Director – Environment

 

1.0       PURPOSE OF REPORT

 

1.1         To inform the members of the Area Committee of the progress made against the 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) require 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 Lead Local Flood Authority 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 NYC 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 NYC

·               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.

 

2.6       On 25 September 2025, a draft of the Section 19 Investigation Report was presented to the Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Committee.

 

2.7       The Section 19 Investigation Report was approved for publishing on 26 September 2025 by the Environment Executive.

 

3.0       PROGRESS AGAINST THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE SECTION 19 REPORT

 

3.1       The following table provides actions completed against recommendations as made within the Section 19 report:

 

Recommendation

Action

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.

Following the publication of the government’s 10 infrastructure plan in 2025 £7.2billion has been allocated nationally for Flood Risk Management over the 10-year plan period. £4.2billion of this has been allocated for the next 3 years 2026-29. The government published its new funding policy in October 2025 and provides a transition period between the old policy and the new policy starting April 2026.  The programme of investment, administered by the Environment Agency is fully committed with existing schemes with no new locations being progressed in 2026/27. There will be a gradual transition to new schemes towards 2029/30. There is therefore currently no funding available to deliver a Property Flood Resilience scheme in 2026/27.

 

Considering the new funding policy NYC is reviewing its current flood risk capital investment programme to maximise opportunities. Guidance to the new national funding policy was published by Environment Agency/Defra on 05 March 2026 allowing this piece of work to now progress with greater confidence.

 

In its Annual Flood Programme update to the Environment Executive on 28 November 2025, it was agreed in Section 11.1 that funding would be allocated to Knaresborough to progress feasibility assessment and match funding to support any bids for grant funding in future years.

 

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

Alongside the scheduled programme cleanse we will continue to inspect the carriageway and assets such as the gullies, in line with our Highway Safety Inspection manual. Should a reactive clean be required following an inspection or a report received by the customer we do have resource available to address these alongside the planned programme.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

NYC and YW hold a monthly meeting to discuss operational issues. The option of installing non-return valves has been discounted and Yorkshire Water are looking into alternative solutions.

Yorkshire Water to continue the development of their Development and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMP)

This is a statutory obligation. Further information can be found on Yorkshire Water’s website. Yorkshire Water - Drainage and wastewater management plan

 

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. 

Whilst no capital investment is available nationally for new projects through Flood and Coastal Grant in Aid, NYC has committed it’s own funding and has secured £10k from the Environment Agency’s revenue budget to develop a study to look at the retrofitting of Sustainable Drainage Systems in collaboration with YW and Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust. YW have also committed resource to support the study as well as the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust seeking an amount of money from the National Lottery Climate Action fund. There is a strong desire to work with local community groups and embrace social action to create new rain gardens and SuDS systems across Harrogate and Knaresborough to reduce flood risk and improve water quality. A decision on National Lottery Funding is awaited.

 

Yorkshire Water is progressing significant investment through its Alliance North storm spill reduction programme within Harrogate and Knaresborough. North Yorkshire Council is working alongside this programme to ensure opportunities to reduce surface water entering the sewer network are always considered where practicable, supporting wider flood‑risk and environmental benefits. YW and NYC are actively working in partnership to identify future opportunities for investment that could be aligned to both the new national funding guidance for flood management

 

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.

A review is in progress through the Resilience and Emergency Team

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.0       PROGRESS AGAINST THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE AREA COMMITTEE ON 25 SEPTEMBER 2025

 

4.1       The following table provides actions completed against recommendations as made by the Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Committee:

 

Recommendation

Action

Commission a Strategic Infrastructure Plan for Knaresborough as a full review of surface water and sewer flood risk mapping for the town, ensuring it reflects observed impacts and provides a reliable basis for future planning. This should inform a dedicated planning document, drawing on Section 106 funding where appropriate (similar to the West of Harrogate Plan) to ensure the drainage network meets current needs and that future development does not worsen flood risk.

There are existing statutory requirements on organisations such as Yorkshire Water and NYC to develop Development and Waste Water Management Plans and Strategic Flood Risk Assessment respectively.

 

As part of the new local plan preparation, a new Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) is being developed to inform the future planning policies. The current existing flood maps showed generally good correlation between the mapping and observed impacts. Nevertheless, the Section 19 report for Knaresborough will be used as evidence in the SFRA to allow to identify areas that have critical drainage issues or where an infrastructure delivery plan is required to ensure any necessary upgrades to infrastructure align with the development plan and ensure flood risk is not increased as a result of new development. Timescales are dependent on the local plan preparation.

 

NYC produce a Prioritised Gully Inspection & Maintenance Plan for Knaresborough, with particular attention to Halfpenny Lane and other high-risk locations where gullies were non-operational during recent flooding. Findings and improvements should be reported back to Area Committee as part of the six-month progress review.

Local Members have been in discussion with the Head of Highway Operations and the Area Manager. The current 2-year gully programme will be complete by the end of March, which will mean all gully’s will have had a clean in the last two years. As we start a new 2 programme, we have ensured hotspots and 6 monthly cleans have been reviewed. Where areas in Knaresborough were identified as ‘hot spots’ their frequency has been reviewed.

 

Support Knaresborough Town Council in developing a communications plan for residents, providing guidance on flood prevention and resilience measures, clarifying maintenance responsibilities, and signposting local reporting routes and support services.

A review is in progress through the Resilience and Emergency Team

 

 

 

 

Review the Section 19 Report through the Transport, Environment, Economy, and Enterprise Overview & Scrutiny Committee, recognising the need for a holistic approach by NYC in its roles as Lead Local Flood Authority, Planning Authority, and Highways Authority. This should serve as a case study to strengthen processes and policies for managing future flood events across North Yorkshire.

 

A scrutiny topic proposal has been submitted and is to be considered by the TEEE Scrutiny Committee at the mid-cycle briefing on 24th March 2026.

 

Come back to the Area Committee and Knaresborough with a six-month progress review.

As requested, the update is being provided in writing in the form of this report. 

 

5.0       PROGRESS AGAINST THE RECOMMENDATIONS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

 

5.1       The following table provides actions completed against recommendations of the Environment Executive 26 September 2025.

 

Recommendation

Action

Undertake an urgent audit of all sewer assets in Knaresborough, ensuring asset transfer and mapping records are complete and up to date and share this data with NYC’s Lead Local Flood Authority;

Public sewers in the affected area have been surveyed following the flood event. Yorkshire Water provides North Yorkshire Council with access to its sewer records, which are maintained and kept up to date, supporting a shared understanding of the sewer network serving Knaresborough

Review maintenance and inspection regimes for key sewers, particularly those on Queen’s Road and St Margaret’s Gardens, to prevent recurrence of known blockages

Yorkshire Water has reviewed maintenance and inspection activity for key sewer assets serving Queen’s Road and St Margaret’s Gardens. This review is informing ongoing operational planning, with further targeted inspection and maintenance kept under regular review and discussed with North Yorkshire Council through existing liaison arrangements.

 

Work jointly with NYC to develop the Strategic Infrastructure Plan for Knaresborough with clear timelines and defined responsibilities

As above, there are existing statutory requirements on organisations such as Yorkshire Water and NYC to develop Development and Waste Water Management Plans and Strategic Flood Risk Assessment respectively. As part of the new local plan preparation, a new Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) is being developed to inform the future planning policies. The current existing flood maps showed generally good correlation between the mapping and observed impacts. Nevertheless, the Section 19 report for Knaresborough will be used as evidence in the SFRA to allow to identify areas that have critical drainage issues or where an infrastructure delivery plan is required to ensure any necessary upgrades to infrastructure align with the development plan and ensure flood risk is not increased elsewhere. Timescales are dependent on the local plan preparation.

 

6.0       LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

 

6.1       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.

 

6.2       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.

 

6.3       Ordinary watercourses and surface water drainage systems not adopted and maintained at public expense are the responsibility of their riparian owners. North Yorkshire County Council/Partners have undertaken studies of the drainage systems using its powers available under Section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 to investigate flood incidents in order to understand any mechanisms which may have contributed to the event and is not indicative of NYCC taking any responsibility for the condition or maintenance of drainage systems in any location.

 

7.0       FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

 

7.1       As this is a progress update report, there are no financial implications arising specifically from the report.

 

8.0

RECOMMENDATION

 

8.1

It is recommended that the members of the Area Committee note the progress made against the recommendations of the Section 19 report and the response of Risk Management Authorities to the significant flood event that affected Knaresborough on 06 May 2024.

 

 

 

APPENDICES:

None

 

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:

None

 

Karl Battersby

Corporate Director – Environment

County Hall

Northallerton

 

 

 

Report Author – Meirion Jones, Lead Local Flood Authority Team Leader