OPW to brief business chiefs on €50m flood plan

The OPW is due to brief Cork’s business leaders next week on a draft €50m flood defence plan for the city, ahead of publication this summer.

Cork Chamber president Gillian Keating, who was critical earlier this year of the lack of meaningful engagement between the OPW and the city’s business community in relation to flood defences, said she is looking forward to the briefing.

She is also anxious to ensure OPW minister Brian Hayes’ commitment, in the wake of February’s flood events to set up a stakeholders group to consider immediate and short-term flood protection options, is delivered.

“The interaction between OPW and businesses wasn’t as active as it could have been,” she said.

“But we got a commitment earlier this year there will be interaction on the plans and it is important now to keep the pressure on that those commitments will be delivered.

“While we want to see as many interim measures implemented as part of the overall scheme, we need to see the solutions from the experts and we’ll comment on the proposals then,” Ms Keating said.

The preferred engineering options — in what is likely to be the biggest flood defence scheme in the country — will due to be published before the end of July.

It is understood the scheme will contain a mix of proposals, including raised earthen banks on certain stretches of the River Lee and raised quay walls in the city centre, combined with careful water level management at the ESB’s dam at Inniscarra.

It is hoped once the public consultation is completed, construction of key elements of the scheme will start by the end of 2015, and will take three years to complete.

Some phases of the overall scheme, especially flood defences in Blackpool, could start sooner.

Chamber chief executive Conor Healy said they have members, who are experts in flood management, poised to review the OPW’s proposals to allow the chamber provide a comprehensive review during the public consultation.

“The worst thing that could happen is that the solution is an interim measure that doesn’t go far enough,” he said.

“We are moving in the right direction but time will tell. We’ll reserve out judgment until we see the OPW plans.”

Mr Hayes has said that public buy-in to the flood defence scheme is vital if it is to be delivered within three years, and warned that objections could delay delivery by several years.