Concrete flood barriers ‘could damage city’s river potential’

Large concrete flood defence barriers could damage Cork’s ability to maximise its river potential, the city’s leading business group has warned.

Cork Chamber has also called for a detailed economic impact study to quantify potential loss to trade due to disruption caused by engineering works before work starts on the massive €50m flood defence scheme — one of the largest ever undertaken in Ireland — in 2016.

“The chamber believes that many lessons can be learned from the experiences gained during the delivery of the Cork Main Drainage Scheme works and ongoing consultation with Cork City Council, the Chamber and other local business groups would greatly assist the design process as and when specific design details and construction methods are being developed for individual locations,” a statement said.