Agenda for Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) Board meeting on 24 January 2025
A meeting of the Board of Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) was held at 10.30am on Friday 7 March 2025 at the offices of Somerset Council (formerly South Somerset District Council’s headquarters) in Brympton Way, Yeovil, BA20 2HT.
Below are lists of people who attended the meeting from across the SRA partnership, plus the meeting’s agenda and reports.
Read a summary of decisions taken at the SRA Board meeting on 7 March 2025.
For more information about matters such as Public Question Time, see: SRA Board Meeting Agenda and Public Guidance notes 7 March 2025
Members of SRA Board:
Cllr Mike Stanton – Chair (Somerset Council)
Tony Bradford – Vice-Chair (Parrett Internal Drainage Board)
Cllr Nick Cottle (Somerset Council)
Vicky Farwig (Wessex Water – substitute)
Rebecca Horsington (Parrett Internal Drainage Board)
David Jenkins (Wessex Regional Flood & Coastal Committee)
Claire Newill (Natural England)
Cllr Nick O’Donnell (Somerset Council)
Wendy Welland (Axe Brue Internal Drainage Board – substitute)
Trevor Whitcombe (Axe Brue Internal Drainage Board – substitute)
Ian Withers (Environment Agency)
Cllr Ros Wyke (Somerset Council)
In attendance:
Damon Bridge (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds – RSPB)
Nicola Dawson (Somerset Council)
James Divall (Somerset Council)
Caroline Dunn (Somerset Rivers Authority)
Ross Edwards (Environment Agency)
Sam Hitchcott (Somerset Council)
Piers Hooper (Environment Agency)
Jonathan Hudston (Somerset Rivers Authority)
David Mitchell (Somerset Rivers Authority)
John Rowlands (Somerset Rivers Authority)
Iain Sturdy (Somerset Drainage Boards Consortium)
Ben Thorne (Great Sedgemoor Landscape Recovery Project)
Apologies:
Cllr Mike Caswell (Somerset Council)
Jeff Fear (Axe Brue Internal Drainage Board)
Andrew Gilling (Axe Brue Internal Drainage Board)
Donna Gowler (Natural England)
Cllr Harry Munt (Somerset Council)
Sean Papworth (Somerset Council)
Matt Wheeldon (Wessex Water)
AGENDA
1 Apologies for Absence
Purpose: Welcome and Clarification
Lead: Chair
2 Declarations of interest
Purpose: Transparency
Lead: Chair
3 Minutes of previous meeting held on 24 January 2025
Purpose: To agree accuracy
Lead: Chair
Document (downloadable PDF): ITEM 3 Draft minutes of SRA Board meeting on 24 January 2025
4 2025-26 SRA Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Constitution
Purpose: To agree and sign MoU and Constitution
Lead: Chair
Documents (downloadable PDF): ITEM 4 SRA Board Paper 2025-26 SRA Memorandum of Understanding and Constitution For Signing 7 March 2025
ITEM 4 SRA Board Paper DRAFT 2025-26 SRA MoU and Constitution Showing Changes 7 March 2025
5 Recent flooding update
Purpose: Update on recent flooding events and recovery process from Flood Risk Management Authorities
Lead: Chair
6 Public Question Time
Purpose: To give the public chance to ask questions
Lead: Chair
7 Finance Report and Enhanced Programme Performance Monitoring
Purpose: a) To update the Board on Quarter 3 2024-25 Finance Report
b) To update the Board on Quarter 3 2024-25 Performance Monitoring.
Leads: Sam Hitchcott, Caroline Dunn
Documents (downloadable PDFs): ITEM 7a SRA Board Paper Quarter 3 2024-25 Finance Report 7 March 2025
ITEM 7a SRA Board Paper Appendix One to Q3 2024-25 Finance Report 7 March 2025
ITEM 7b SRA Board Paper Quarter 3 2024-25 performance monitoring report 7 March 2025
8 SRA 2025-26 Enhanced Programme and Budget
Purpose: To review and approve the SRA 2025-26 Proposed Enhanced Programme and Budget
Lead: David Mitchell
Documents (downloadable PDFs): ITEM 8 SRA Board Paper 2025-26 Enhanced Programme and Budget 7 March 2025
ITEM 8 Appendix 1 2025-26 SRA Enhanced Programme action summaries with grant amounts 7 March 2025
9 Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) presentation
Purpose: Presentation about the Greater Sedgemoor landscape recovery project
Lead: Damon Bridge, RSPB project leader (accompanied by Ben Thorne)
Document (downloadable PDF): ITEM 9 RSPB Landscape Recovery SRA presentation 7 March 2025
10 Community Flood Action Fund
Purpose: Update following passing of first application deadline of 25 February
Lead: David Mitchell
Document (downloadable PDF): ITEM 10 SRA Board Paper Community Flood Action Fund Update 7 March 2025
11 River Sowy – King’s Sedgemoor Drain (KSD) Enhancements Scheme
Purpose: To provide the Board with a verbal update on progress and next steps on KSD outfall structures and KSD bank raising
Lead: Iain Sturdy
12 River Brue Modelling update
Purpose: Verbal update on progress of modelling work
Lead: David Mitchell
13 South West Audit Partnership (SWAP) report
Purpose: Review and comment on SWAP report
Lead: David Mitchell
Documents (downloadable PDFs): ITEM 13 SRA Board Paper SWAP Audit 7 March 2025
ITEM 13 Appendix 1 SWAP SRA Audit Report 7 March 2025
14 Any Other Business (AOB)
Purpose: Please notify the Chair of AOB in advance of the meeting
15 Paper to note: Taunton Strategic Flood Alleviation Improvements Scheme
Purpose: Update to note
Document (downloadable PDF): ITEM 15 SRA Board Paper to Note TSFAIS 7 March 2025
For more information relating to the meeting, such as public attendance and access, please see the Public Guidance notes below:
Document (downloadable PDF): SRA Board Meeting Agenda and Public Guidance notes 7 March 2025
Next SRA Board meeting: 6 June 2025, starting time and venue to be confirmed.