CONTROVERSIAL WHITESANDS FLOOD PLAN GOES BEFORE COUNCIL – AGAIN
Written by author on September 14, 2015
PLANS for the controversial £15 million Whitesands Project will come under scrutiny on Tuesday.
Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Economy, Environment and Infrastructure Committee will debate the issue which has brought protests from thousands of people in a petition organised by the ‘Save our Sands and River Views’ group.
Councillors will be asked to agree to a further round of public engagement on new options which include reducing the bund by more than a metre with a glass parapet providing a further 1.2 metre of protection.
A petition opposing the project claiming it would spoil the view and affect parking places was presented earlier this year and organisers want alternative schemes to be put forward for consideration.
Council officials say that officers have now used the feedback from the public consultation to refine the project further and councillors are being asked to agree to a further round of public engagement on the refined options.
David Slater from the Save our Sands and River Views said after a briefing session was held on Monday: “It was disappointing to see that the earth banking is still the main thrust of their plan.
“As far as I can see it has been mainly tinkering with the only design on the table. What the people want to see is their river and the earth bund scheme kicked into touch.”
Councillor Colin Smyth, chairman of the Economy, Environment and Infrastructure committee, said: “This is a really important project so it is vital that the best option possible is agreed when a decision is made by councillors in the months ahead.
“The project is continually evolving and a lot of work has been done by council officers and the experts employed from a range of companies to ensure the feedback from public engagement continues to be fed into refining the designs and options.
“I think there is now a public understanding that all the studies have shown that, unfortunately, options such as dredging and storing floodwater upstream will not tackle the larger floods on the Whitesands and there is a need for physical flood prevention measures on both sides of the river through the town.”
Councillor Smyth added that the project was more than just flood prevention but also the wider regeneration of the Whitesands.
“We need to make the fantastic asset that is our riverside an area that is attractive to visit both for local people and tourists. The latest refined options offer some positive solutions to tackle concerns over the potential visual impact of the project and, in some cases, actually improve the current river views which are blocked by walls, which will be removed.”
