In light of the River Clyde bursting its banks, what impact and risk assessments it has undertaken regarding Glasgow’s flood defences.

A National Flood Risk Assessment (NFRA) is carried out by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to identify where significant flood risk exists in Scotland and to designate Potentially Vulnerable Areas (PVAs). There are 14 Flood Risk Management Strategies that set objectives and measures for the management of flood risk for the PVAs. Local Flood Risk Management Plans set out in more detail how measures in the Strategies will be delivered. Flood Risk Management in Scotland is reviewed every six years and the current Strategies and Plans are valid until 2021 and 2022, respectively.
An interim report on progress on the Clyde and Loch Lomond Flood Risk Management Plan was published in March 2019 and is available on Glasgow City Council’s website.
Locally, Glasgow City Council is in the process of updating the Lower River Clyde tidal model and South Lanarkshire Council are developing the Upper River Clyde fluvial model. These models will be used to inform the Flood Risk Management Strategy and flood defences along the River Clyde.
SEPA and Glasgow City Council are also working in partnership under the umbrella of the Metropolitan Glasgow Strategic Drainage Partnership to bring forward development control / planning principles for the regeneration of brownfield sites along the river corridor.
SEPA is beginning to review and update the 14 Flood Risk Management Strategies This work is taking into account all new evidence and information, including a revised NFRA published in December 2018 and information from modelling and flood studies such as those described above.
The revised Strategies will be published in December 2021, followed by revised Plans in June 2022.