Fears of further delays to €20m Blackpool flood scheme

The Cork project has been stalled for almost two years following a legal challenge

The OPW presented a proposal to culvert a section of the river Bride as part of the Blackpool flood relief scheme in Cork. Picture: Larry Cummins

There are fears of further delays to a €20m flood relief scheme in Cork, which has been stalled for almost two years following a legal challenge.

The Irish Examiner has learned the Department of Public Expenditure has asked the Office of Public Works (OPW) to provide extra information about its contentious Blackpool flood relief scheme to the external consultants who are now assessing the project. It was confirmed in March 2021, but became the subject of a legal challenge in June 2021.

A community group was granted leave at the time to apply for a judicial review of the then public expenditure minister’s decision to confirm the scheme, and a stay was granted on any works being carried out on it pending the resolution of the legal proceedings.

Then, in January 2022, the department agreed to consent to an order reverting the evaluation of the scheme to an advanced stage of further public consultation, conceding the matter on a single ground related to public consultation procedures.

In the wake of recent flooding events in Cork City and county, Cork North Central Fine Gael TD Colm Burke sought a progress update on the scheme from Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe.

In a written reply on Tuesday, the minister said his department has engaged independent environmental consultants to examine the environmental assessments undertaken by the OPW in relation to the scheme “in order to reach a reasoned conclusion on the environmental impacts” of it.

“These examinations are currently being progressed. It is a requirement under the regulations to hold a period of public consultation for such a scheme,” he said.

“The timing of this consultation will be determined on the basis of advice received having regard for the wider confirmation process.” 

Mr Burke said he was extremely disappointed with the update, given that it is almost two years since the legal challenge. He said the request for additional information will delay the new public consultation, which in turn will delay delivery of the scheme.

“We need the minister to clarify how long it will take to gather this extra information, how long it will take to assess it and when the public consultation will take place," he said.

We need urgent clarification, a clear timeline, and clear target dates.

“This has been going on for over a decade. We have businesses in the area that can’t borrow money because of the flood risk situation, who don’t have flood insurance, who can’t sell or lease their properties, all because of this uncertainty.

“This is one of the oldest parts of city and its residents and businesses need clarification on this as soon as possible."

It is understood that the department is anxious to ensure that each stage of the process is legally sound amid concerns that if this work is not done, the scheme could be open to a further legal challenge.

The OPW and its own consultants had spent almost a decade analysing, assessing, and modelling the flood risk in Blackpool, and engaging in public consultation, before it presented its preferred flood relief options for the area.

Campaigners who opposed its proposal to culvert a section of the river Bride have insisted that hard engineering options would damage the river, which is home to an important otter population, and that nature-based flood mitigation measure upstream should be considered.

The OPW has described the proposed flood relief scheme as a "critically required infrastructural investment in the Blackpool area" which will protect the businesses and people in the area from the ongoing risk of flooding.