By Joe McCann
CONCERNS have been raised after sections of the flood defences at the Floodgates in Newtownards were damaged during Storm Bram, with the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) stating repairs are expected within four to six weeks.
The issue was raised by Green Party councillor Barry McKee who said he was alerted to the damages along the floodgates path in Newtownards. The damage to the rock armour along the path is located between the Ards Allotments and the Ballyrickard Wastewater Treatment Works.
Mr McKee, who is a councillor for Bangor West, said the issue was a worry for Ards and North Down Council who are preparing to develop the path into a Greenway at ‘significant public expense’.
He said: “Local people who use this path regularly were right to raise the alarm; this flood defence is not just protecting a walking route, it protects farmland, allotments, local businesses and nearby homes. If the rock armour continues to fail, the stability of the bank is at risk and that significantly increases the potential for flooding in Newtownards.”
Mr McKee said he was concerned that the council had not been informed about the damage to which a spokesman from DfI said, “the issue concerned a Departmental sea defence, whose sole function is coastal protection, so council notification was not required.”
The councillor said his concern apart from flooding risks was that council work on the bank could be compromised by the damaged flood defences: “My concern is that the Council could bring heavy machinery onto a bank that is already damaged, placing additional strain on a flood prevention structure that protects homes, businesses and agricultural land.”
In response a spokesman for DfI said the damage occurred during Storm Bram on December 9 and 10 and was assessed by engineers from the Rivers Directorate to not be a flood risk and repairs would begin within the next four to six weeks.
“This section of sea defence lies within an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) and is located in a tidally influenced, environmentally sensitive and physically constrained part of the shoreline,” he said.
“Any repair works must therefore be carefully planned to ensure safe access, appropriate handling of materials and protection of designated habitats.
“The Department is currently awaiting the necessary ASSI consent before undertaking works on site. Rivers Directorate has programmed the required repair works and aims to complete them within the next four to six weeks, subject to receipt of the required environmental consent and suitable tidal and weather conditions.
“The Department will continue to monitor the site until the works are completed.”
