'Jury still out' over Highland Council's flash flooding action plans in Dingwall but public meeting comments a step in right direction, says flood victim
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THE jury is still out over efforts to tackle future flooding in Dingwall but Highland Council’s response is a step in the right direction – a flood victim believes.
Dingwall resident Shona Dryburgh, who previously said another inundation of her home would “break” her, spoke after the council revealed it could invest £230,000 in equipment and infrastructure to combat the town’s flood woes.
That was one of the options locals were told about at a busy public meeting on Monday involving council officers, Sepa, Scottish Water and the Scottish Flood Forum.
The town was flooded twice over the summer, with many critical of how it could have happened again after locals were promised in 2006 that the problem had been dealt with through alarms.
However, numerous homes were damaged again when water cascaded down the blocked Boggan Burn culvert only to hit drains on Burn Place which were clogged having not been emptied “for years.”
In dealing with the fallout council chief executive Donna Manson vowed to come back until a solution had been found, including several “quick wins”. Included would be investment in new equipment like the so-called “gully-suckers” that clear drain and gully debris.
The council has just three for the entire region with the Ross and Cromarty area getting the equivalent of just 142 days a year. Adding more to the fleet would cost somewhere in the region of £200,000.
Mrs Manson said: “The challenge we face is that we don’t think we have got enough – for Ross and Cromart and the Dingwall area. We are planning to take this proposal to members in the [resource] committee to say we need more equipment. We are going to seek further resources in two areas, it is not just for gully cleaning but generally, I do have a concern that we don’t have enough equipment in community services – we are a third of the size of Scotland.
“We have more and more extreme weather and our equipment needs invested in.”
Another area for investment would be a trap to catch debris higher up the Boggan Burn. This could cost around £30,000.
Responding to the comments, Mrs Dryburgh said: “We’ve never had promises that were then carried through so that is a definite good thing that Donna Manson has done.” She added: “I appreciate what they’ve done but I still think it is far too early to come out with a conclusion – the jury is out.”
