Ballyvourney flood plan to go on public display
LOCALS in Ballyvourney will next month be given the chance to have their say on a set of proposals aimed at addressing the issue of flooding from the River Sullane.
This after it emerged that the plans for the proposed Ballyvourney Flood Defence project will be going on display at a public consultation meeting taking place in the Abbey Hotel on March 22 from 2pm-8pm.
Local Fianna Fail TD Aindrias Moynihan has urged locals residents and business owners to avail of the opportunity to view the plans.
Just last December Deputy Moynihan slammed the government over what he described as the “unacceptable” delay in implementing the flood scheme, raising the issue in the Dáil with OPW Minister Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran’.
Minister Moran said the final plans were undergoing an independent review by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
“Once this has been completed and observations addressed, I would hope by early 2018 to seek approval for flood risk management plans under the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) programme,” he said.
Speaking this week Deputy Moynihan said he was delighted that a definitive date for the next phase of the project had “finally” been confirmed.
“This flood defence project has been in the works for some time. Thankfully we are now finally seeing some progress on it,” said Deputy Moynihan.
“This is a very important stage in the campaign to ensure that the village of Ballyvourney, its residents and business get the flood protection they need. I want people to come along to see the plans for the project themselves. This will allow them to make informed submissions when the time come,” she added.
He said the importance of the scheme could not be overstated, given the “considerable damage” caused locally over the years as a result of flooding from the River Sullane.
“Once these defence works are completed, it should allow home and businesses owners, as well as landowners get cheaper flood insurance into the future,” he added.