Team behind Cork's flood defence plan release video to try and silence detractors
The LLFRS project team has now released a video and images that it claims will prove that the scheme will not damage the surrounding areas or local heritage.
The project team behind the controversial flood defence scheme for Cork city has claimed a video and pictures it has released should silence the plan's detractors.
The €150m Lower Lee Flood Relief Scheme (LLFRS) has become one of the most contentious and divisive issues in Cork in recent years, setting up a protracted battle between proponents and opponents that has no end in sight.
The Office of Public Works, Cork City Council and other supporters, including businesses repeatedly damaged by floods over the decades, say the scheme will comprehensively deal with both tidal and river flooding.
Opponents of the scheme, such as lobby group Save Cork City and businesses also affected by floods, insist that such works are needless and a tidal barrier would suffice, without risk to heritage and the local environment.
The LLFRS project team has now released a video and images that it claims will prove that the scheme will not damage the surrounding areas or local heritage.
“The video and the various images that have been published puts paid to the ideas that the scheme would mean the destruction of heritage, the concealment of the river from view and the curtailment of the use of the river – none of which is true,” it said.
The scheme, the largest of its kind in the history of the State to date, is the result of “over 13 years of careful consideration and study of the Lee catchment”, according to the project team.
It said that it is benchmarked against best international practice, and takes account of the complexity of both tidal and river flooding in Cork.
Flooding in 2009 and 2014 caused around €140m in damage, while the past summer saw a number of events, including last month’s damage in Oliver Plunkett Street.
The video and images can be seen here.
