FLOOD MISERY ‘Where were the sandbags?’
Stirling Council this week responded to criticism from a Bridge of Allan councillor over “a lack of support” for town residents during last weekend’s flooding.
The River Allan flooded the Haws Park and adjacent allotments close to homes in Cornton Road and Fountain Road last Friday.
Councillor Douglas Dodds said this week he had contacted a number of residents in these areas to see how they were coping and what support they were getting.
He told the Observer: “On Friday these areas flooded as would be expected. Both locations have long history of suffering from localised flooding. It was predictable this would happen when the heavy and prolonged rainfall was forecast.
“I was advised they needed sandbags but no-one from the council had been in the area to make them available.”
Councillor Dodds also pointed to hydro sacks and sandbags held within locked containers at the fire station by the allotments. However, following enquiries councillor Dodds said he found out that only council officers had the combination. He said this week that “a clear procedure” had to be in place to access the sacks and sandbags.
A Stirling Council spokesperson said this week: “The responsibility for the protection of private property during floods lies with the owner and, given the scale of the flooding over the weekend, staff had to prioritise keeping roads open to maintain emergency services access.
“In severe weather conditions, staff worked round the clock to re-open flooded roads and to put preventative measures in place to keep the public safe.
“Sandbags were also made available for collection at the
Springkerse and Callander depots, while regular social media updates were provided on flood alerts, weather warnings, sandbag locations and road closures.
“The flood pods/bins at Bridge of Allan Fire Station are intended for the specific purpose of deployment via a controlled community resilience plan. This allows individuals involved to operate safely with the appropriate insurance cover. As there is currently no flood group in Bridge of Allan – which disbanded last year – there is currently no means to do this.
“Should members of the community wish to develop a resilience plan, the flooding team would be happy to provide information and assistance.
The spokesmeperon added: “Once again, we would like to thank the public across Stirling for their patience and for sharing information with the council and their neighbours during this latest period of extreme weather.”