Bo’ness will be the pilot area as Falkirk Council starts to firm up plans to tackle ‘hot spots’ across the district that are prone to flooding in heavy rain.
In total, 936 properties across the Falkirk area are believed to be at risk of surface water flooding – caused by heavy rainfall – according to modelling done by the environment agency SEPA.
This week, members of Falkirk Council’s executive heard that the climate change crisis means things such as flash floods are expected to become more severe and more frequent – and they can have a devastating impact on people’s lives and property,
After looking at SEPA’s findings, Falkirk Council’s own data gathering has found 130 ‘hot spots’ across the district that could be vulnerable to flooding when the weather turns bad, according to a recent report.
Work is now underway to prioritise the most vulnerable areas and identify which will have priority in a formal surface water management flood scheme.
The first areas to be looked at will be: Bonnybridge; Bo’ness; Carronshore – Wastewater Pumping Station (WwPS); Falkirk Town – North East; Falkirk Town – South West; Larbert – Lower Larbert WwPS; Northfoot; Polmonthill; and Zetland.
Scottish Government guidance also asks the council to look at “quick wins”, so work will also take place to target smaller scale problems at Airth, Denny, Dunipace, Glenburn, Glensburgh and Slamannan.
Councillors were told that to move forward with more detailed plans – and get an idea of the costs involved – a pilot area should be established.
They agreed that Bo’ness – which is more independent than other areas and a good size for a study – should be the pilot area.
Once the detailed surface water management programmes are complete, the council will produce a flood plan for the whole district to formalise action plans for reacting to floods in the area.
The more local assessments will give a proper understanding of the work that might be required and will allow more thorough costing analysis to be undertaken on potential solutions.
