Flooding and drainage concerns on agenda of residents' meeting over new multimillion-pound Easter Ross school campus in Tain
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A PROGRESS report on a multimillion-pound Easter Ross school campus development is being held in Tain tomorrow – with drainage concerns on the agenda.
The Ross-shire Journal first revealed the concerns of some members of the Tain community over the impact of work to date on the new 3-18 school campus last month.
The school is the biggest development within primary and secondary education in the area for generations and aims to replace a number of existing schools and buildings which are deemed sub-optimal and, in some cases, unfit for purpose.
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Details of a meeting planned for Tuesday, February 21 at Tain Royal Academy have been sent to some residents within the local community.
Top of the agenda is an update to residents on site progress followed by an item on site drainage during the works and flood mitigation.
A final drainage design will also be shared and issues including site traffic, noise and vibration discussed.
Anyone wanting further details is asked to contact CLestates@highland.gov.uk
We reported last month how the contractor behind the town had been asked for assurances over potential flooding issues affecting neighbouring residents.
The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency confirmed it is aware of the issues and is monitoring the situation.
The new development is being built on a site at Craighill in Tain.
A community Facebook page earlier flagged a number of concerns.
One local resident who was amongst the first to raise concerns based on what she saw, said then: "Unfortunately the site spring and field drains were bulldozed in October resulting in flooding. I spoke to the site manager to advise him drains had been installed in the 1980s due to this being an issue back then.
"I'm hoping that they install efficient drainage otherwise the new school will be flooded at the first sign of heavy rain."
Another resident said: "Tain's always been a wet place – Craighill and Tain Academy both had muddy grounds – and it doesn't seem like the proper amount of attention was given to that fact with the planning of the new building. The drainage used to follow a different route, now it's going through people's gardens and under the foundations of their homes so it needs sorted out."
A Kier spokesperson at the time told the Ross-shire Journal: "A resident raised concerns over water entering their garden, which we proactively investigated. We found the source of the issue was an old field drain, which has since been capped off.
“As a responsible contractor, we are delivering Tain Academy in line with regulations and all works have been carefully planned, with approval provided by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency where needed. We hold regular resident engagement events and our site team are on hand to answer any questions from local residents.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said: “In November 2022, we received reports of silt entering a surface water drain on the boundary of the school construction site. SEPA officers visited the site and required improvements to contain the silt. This resulted in the construction company enlarging their settlement pond, as well as installing fencing and a silt settlement tank.
“We will continue to monitor the site to ensure appropriate silt mitigation. Anyone who spots signs of pollution is urged to contact SEPA as soon as possible via the pollution hotline 0800 80 70 60 or online at www.sepa.org.uk/report.”
Contacted for comment, Tain and Easter Ross councillor Derek Louden said: "We've set up a meeting for residents of Moss Road and Provost Ferguson Drive to have a discussion with representatives of Kier Construction and Highland Council.
"We're keen to make sure that residents are able to clear up any concerns at an early stage and have a chance to discuss progress and the final layout of the site with the contractor and with our team.
"I'm hopeful the dialogue, once opened, will continue so residents are kept better informed in the weeks and months ahead."
