Villagers ‘have got to get their flooding problems fixed soon’
Council chiefs have been urged to outline a strategy for dealing with a “backlog” of flooding problems across Renfrewshire’s villages.
Councillor James MacLaren claims the local authority was already behind in fixing a number of blocked gullies before the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
And with resources having been directed to the crisis response, he is now concerned the task could become unmanageable.
The Bishopton, Bridge of Weir and Langbank councillor said there were several long-running flooding issues in his ward and demanded council bosses lay out how repair work will be carried out after the worst of the outbreak has passed.
“Flooding continues to be a major concern across my ward and the blockage in many gullies is a significant reason for that,” said Councillor MacLaren.
“I have been continually frustrated at the backlog in clearing these gullies, which was a major issue before the Covid-19 pandemic.
“While I understand the diversion of resources to tackle the crisis, I would hope that in the aftermath Renfrewshire Council could outline a plan to tackle these problems.
“Residents and businesses should not have to suffer ongoing flooding issues due to a lack of basic repairs.
“I hope that once the worst of this pandemic is over we can see repair work being carried out in order to bring confidence in my ward that troublesome gullies are being unblocked and repaired.”
Council bosses insisted staff have investigated places across the region which are prone to flooding and have pledged to schedule work later this year once Covid-19 guidelines allow.
A council spokesman said: “During this difficult time we continue to carry out essential roads and gulley maintenance and repairs in line with current government guidelines and we are making significant investment in drainage infrastructure this year as part of the ongoing investment in our road and pathway infrastructure.
“We have investigated a number of locations prone to flooding, which occur for a variety of reasons, not solely connected to gullies, and will schedule work later this year once government and public health guidelines allow and we have assessed the impact of coronavirus.”
Residents and businesses should not have to suffer ongoing issues due to a lack of basic repairs