01823-355111 sra@somerset.gov.uk

Somerset’s 20 Year Flood Action Plan and the SRA

SRA Annual report 2021-22: Somerset’s 20 Year Flood Action Plan and the SRA

The Somerset Levels & Moors Flood Action Plan was published in March 2014, at the end of that winter’s massive floods.

Those floods brought misery and devastation to many, they closed 81 roads and cost Somerset an estimated £148 million.

Directly or indirectly, everybody in Somerset was affected.

Front cover of first Flood Action Plan executive summary

When Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) was launched on 31 January 2015 the Flood Action Plan was widened to include the whole of Somerset.

The SRA oversees the Flood Action Plan. It has six main objectives, stretching over 20 years:

  1. Reduce the frequency, depth and duration of flooding.
  2. Maintain access for communities and business.
  3. Increase resilience to flooding for families, agriculture, businesses, communities, and wildlife.
  4. Make the most of the special characteristics of Somerset (with internationally important biodiversity, environment and cultural heritage).
  5. Ensure strategic road and rail connectivity, both within Somerset and through the county to the South West peninsula.
  6. Promote business confidence and growth.

All actions in the SRA’s annual Enhanced Programmes are scored and ranked against these objectives.

Activities in 2021-22

Somerset Rivers Authority is leading a revamp of Somerset’s 20 Year Flood Action Plan, working with consultants WSP.

The point of drawing up a Flood Action Plan in 2014 was to bring different organisations and people together, so together they could do more. More to reduce local flood risks, more to make local communities stronger, more to respond to local priorities in ways they could not otherwise do.

Since 2014, a lot has been achieved. A lot has also changed. For example, dealing with climate change is more of a priority for many people than it was eight years ago. More places have flooded. Next year a new Somerset Council starts.

The time is therefore right to discuss what needs doing next. In 2021-22 the SRA began consulting partners and stakeholders about future local priorities, for example in March 2022 an all-day SRA Board workshop was held in North Petherton. In autumn 2022 people across Somerset will be asked for their views about what should be done to give Somerset more protection from flooding and greater resilience. A revamped plan will be approved by the SRA Board and published in March 2023.

Back To Top