Action demanded on flood prevention plan for Nairn
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NAIRN residents are demanding a flood prevention strategy is produced for the town.
Millions of pounds have been spent on flood prevention schemes in Inverness and Moray and community councils are calling for action by Highland Council.
Risks of flooding in Nairn surfaced again with the flood prevention gates at Fishertown having to be closed during heavy rainfall last month and the entrance to Balmakeith Park was under water as the Auldearn Burn burst its banks.
Parkland at the Riverside was also under water during the July spates.
The community councils say it is not a matter of ‘if’, but ‘when’ Nairn will be hit by serious flooding.
According to them the idea of a strategy was first floated in 2012, but is no further forward.
Community council leaders Sheena Baker (Nairn West and Suburban) and Hamish Bain (Nairn River) have written to Emma Tayler, the council’s ward manager for Nairn, warning that urgent action is required, especially for potentially vulnerable areas (PVAs).
“Action proposed in 2012 has slipped,” they stated. “Given the time required for studies, option appraisals, and selection of suitable mitigation measures, this suggests that no practical flood prevention measures in respect of the Nairn PVAs appear now to be in prospect until perhaps 2025 or later.
“And there is a serious question mark over the availability of funding, now and in the future.
“This is not an encouraging picture. There is no doubt that Nairn is acutely vulnerable to further flooding. It is not a matter of ‘if’, but ‘when’.”
The letter goes on: “We in Nairn are not immune. Heavy rainfall and river spates, coinciding with high tides in the firth, have in past years led to serious flooding in the Fishertown area and elsewhere.
“This has been exacerbated by overflows and capacity problems with the [largely Victorian] town drainage network.”
In January 2020, following overflows of the Alton Burn at Tradespark, Nairn West and Suburban Community Council formally raised residents’ concerns about that specific problem and about the implementation of wider flood prevention measures.
Mrs Baker said: “This goes back a long way. Sepa, Scottish Water, Highland Council have all been involved but nothing has been done.
“They have prevaricated about getting these reports and the recent heavy rainfall resulted in overflows of waste water into the sea which affected the water quality.”
Kirstin Laing (51), who has lived in Balmakeith Park in Nairn since 2003, said her garden is first to flood when the Auldearn Burn overflows.
“There’s a culvert at the entrance to Balmakeith Park and I think it’s too small.
“At one time the burn was being cleared by farmers. It’s not been done for some time and when we approached the council, they said it was up to the farmers but there’s a problem at the culvert which resulted in the entrance to the road being flooded recently.”
In 2014 , firefighters were called out to pump water away as it threatened some homes and sandbags had to be provided by the council.
“The fire brigade were here for 12 hours and some houses were affected,” Ms Laing said. “We are anxious every time it rains heavily. There’s nothing we can do. The council made promises the culvert would be repaired but nothing gets done. Every year there’s an excuse about funding.”
A council spokesman said: “A consultation has just started on the 2022-28 Local Flood Risk Management Plans. This was delayed from March due to Sepa issues following a cyber attack and a requirement for all local authorities to co-ordinate their consultations with Sepa.”
