Flood fears at Queen’s Court
Vulnerable north Edinburgh resident dreads a repeat flooding at her home
A WOMAN WHO LIVES in a ground floor flat in Blackhall fears it could be flooded again. Two years ago during severe floods Jenni Paling (pictured above) had to move out of her Queen’s Court home for six months while her home was repaired. She lost many sentimental items, much of it due to sewage contamination. With any forecast of heavy rain the danger of flooding fills her with dread.
Mrs Paling is now undergoing treatment for cancer and the situation has become more important. As a chemotherapy patient she has to avoid infection of any kind.
Her daughter, Emma, told The Edinburgh Reporter: “She is not fit enough to relocate should her flat become flooded again. On top of everything else she is going through, it is something else she really could do without having to worry about. Residents of Queen’s Court have complained repeatedly to Scottish Water and to the council yet they are still to act. My mum has sandbags to put outside her door, which due to her current health situation, the neighbours are doing for her.”
Cllr Hal Osler said: “The situation at Queen’s Court has been going on for a number of years and has been truly horrendous for the poor residents. They have been flooded out twice, the second time shortly after the residents had only just been able to return.
“It’s not a blocked gully issue, it’s far worse. Queen’s Court sits at the bottom of a gradient and it has a mains sewer running down the side of the property meeting another pipe that it connects to. When there are heavy rains the sewer build up becomes overwhelmed and floods the garden and lower flats.
“I have been working with residents, Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP, officers and Scottish Water to make improvements to this situation which you can imagine is not a quick fix. Small immediate things have happened. The gullies in the area are on the council “sensitive” list and Scottish Water have fitted non return values. There have been meetings with Scottish Water and I have been included in an email exchange with Scottish Water about fitting flood defences. The issue I am afraid is always the same which is money. To be honest I dread the weather forecast when heavy rain is predicted .”
Mrs Paliing said:”The drains for surface water are now cleaned regularly after the big flood but the drain which is being flooded goes under the wall. We’ve reported it every time it happens- it’s a rain drain primarily but sewerage is coming into it. Honestly, no one cares.”
A Scottish Water spokesperson said:
“Scottish Water have been working on developing a solution to reduce the risk of flooding at Queens Court in Blackhall.
We are now progressing detailed planning of the proposed mitigations that will reduce the impact of future flooding incidents.”
When asked about immediate action Scottish Water replied: “Mitigations to reduce the impact of flooding take time to plan and deliver, however, until they are in place, Scottish Water will always look to attend to properties and areas affected by flooding as quickly as possible.”
A spokesperson for FirstPort Limited who manage the development said: “We understand the distress and anxiety that flooding has caused for our residents at Queens Court and we worked with insurers to repair the damage and get residents back into their homes as quickly and safely as possible. We are working with Scottish Water to install mitigation measures, including flood doors and barriers, to better protect the building when adverse weather puts it at risk.”