The Environment and Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Durham County Council was scheduled to meet on Thursday 7 May 2026 to discuss flood risk management, financial outturns for the third quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year, and performance management against the council's strategic objectives. The meeting's agenda included updates from various Flood Risk Management Authorities, a review of the council's financial position, and a performance report detailing progress on key objectives.

Flood Risk Management Authorities Report

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to receiving updates from Flood Risk Management Authorities (FRMAs) for County Durham. This included reports and presentations from Durham County Council's Corporate Director of Neighbourhoods and Environment, the Environment Agency, and Northumbrian Water Limited.

Durham County Council, acting as the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, was set to provide details of current and future flood mitigation schemes. This included an update on the South Stanley and Craghead Area project, funded by the Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme, which aims to develop new approaches to Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS). The council also planned to report on its involvement in the SuDS in Schools Project, which will retrofit SuDS in seven schools across the county, and ongoing studies within the Northumbria Integrated Drainage Partnership (NIDP).

The Environment Agency was scheduled to present its current works and future investment plans for flood risk management and coastal defence in County Durham. This included details of the FCRM investment in 2025/26, which saw £6.9 million invested in the county, primarily through NIDP schemes. The agency was also to outline the new three-year FCRM investment programme from 2026 to 2029, with an expected investment of approximately £13 million in County Durham. Community engagement efforts, including the work of Community Engagement Officers and the 'Sassy Duck Campaign' to promote flood warning service sign-ups, were also to be discussed.

Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) was to provide an update on its flood mitigation schemes. This included details of their business plan for 2025-2030, their ongoing liaison with other FRMAs, and their continued delivery of the NIDP programme. NWG was also to report on sewer flooding capital investment, including a project in Valley Gardens, Consett, and provide an update on their Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMPs). Performance figures for internal and external sewer flooding incidents were also to be presented, alongside an update on the 'Bin the Wipe' campaign.

Quarter Three 2025/2026 Forecast of Revenue and Capital Outturn

The committee was to receive a joint report from the Corporate Director of Resources and the Corporate Director of Neighbourhoods and Environment detailing the forecast outturn budget for the service areas within the committee's remit for the third quarter of the 2025/2026 financial year. The report was expected to highlight major variances in comparison with the budget, based on the position as of 31 December 2025. The Neighbourhoods service area was forecasting an underspend of £4.152 million against a revised budget of £112.477 million, while Culture, Sport & Tourism was forecasting an underspend of £54,000 against a revised budget of £17.966 million. The report was to provide analysis by Head of Service and by subjective analysis, detailing the reasons for any under or overspending.

Quarter Three 2025/2026 Performance Management

A report from the Chief Executive was scheduled to provide an update on the council's progress towards achieving the strategic ambitions and objectives set out in the Council Plan 2025-30. The report was to present Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) through 'easy to read' dashboards, focusing on trends, direction of travel, benchmarking, and performance against targets. The data presented was for the period ending 31 December 2025, with contextual information on activities and events from the third quarter of the 2025/26 financial year. Key performance messages were to be aligned with the council's five key strategic ambitions, highlighting areas that were going well and issues we are addressing. Specific areas of focus included Supercharging Our Economy, Building Better Communities, and A Practical Environmental Stewardship.

The meeting was also scheduled to include standard procedural items such as apologies, substitute members, confirmation of previous minutes, and declarations of interest.