Council urged to drop flood defence project funding

John Dowson of the Save Our Sands campaign says it is time to drop the flood scheme once and for all

A campaign group is calling on councillors to drop funding for a town's flood protection project in order to prioritise spending elsewhere.

Save Our Sands (SOS) fears the Whitesands plans in Dumfries will rise in cost well above the last estimate of £37m.

Spokesman John Dowson called on all of the main political groups to leave it out of their budget plans due to be finalised this month.

However, none of them would commit to doing so ahead of a full Dumfries and Galloway Council meeting to agree their spending plans.

The Whitesands area of Dumfries floods on a regular basis

Some sort of flood protection for the area - which regularly floods - has been discussed for decades.

A target start date for the prevention scheme has been set in the summer of next year.

However, Mr Dowson said it was time to drop the proposals - which also include work on the nearby Greensands area.

"My message to the political groups is this really, you should pull the plug on this whole project," he said.

"It's gone up from £10m to the latest estimates of £40m to £50m - the council simply can't afford it.

"So what I've put to the group leaders, Labour, SNP and Conservative is will they consider taking any further works on the Whitesands and Greensands project out of their budgets."

The council budget-setting meeting is on 27 February when Mr Dowson, who also sits on Loreburn Community Council, said he hoped they would set different priorities.

"I would like them to take the money out and basically just stop the whole thing in its tracks," he said.

"As a community council member, I can tell you, what we are getting from local people is that there's a desperate need to spend money in our High Street.

"It's a terrible mess, it's just dirty - not clean - there's empty shops, we need to tackle antisocial behaviour."

Mr Dowson said the area did not flood often and businesses were able to reopen quickly after most incidents

He said one of the biggest concerns about the project was that car parking spaces being lost in one area would be "dumped" on another.

"They're going to destroy really a quite a beautiful green space as part of this project, it doesn't make sense - there is no logic to it," he said.

Mr Dowson insisted that flooding was not, in reality, a major issue for businesses and homes in the area.

"It doesn't flood that often, we occasionally get a large flood - every five to 10 years or whatever," he said.

"But I can tell you that even in a large flood, these properties will be up and running again within 24 to 48 hours

"They clean it out, they're used to it, and in the meantime, they have the benefit of very low rates and very low property values."

Car parking would be moved to make way for the flood defence project

Labour councillor Linda Dorward said the area had suffered "chronic flooding issues" and it could not be allowed to continue.

She also highlighted that Dumfries was in line for £20m from the UK government over 10 years to improve the town centre, alongside the 80% Scottish government support for the flood scheme.

Ms Dorward added that the Labour group was "ambitious for our region" and believed the investment in the Whitesands should progress.

"We believe our region needs brave, bold and responsible decision-making," she said.

"Fear of change, prevarication and a lack of ambition do not make for a growing or vibrant economy."

Plans to protect the area from flooding have been discussed for years

The SNP's Stephen Thompson said finances were still in place to take the scheme forward.

"The capital budget for the flood protection schemes remains in the overall council budget as there are sufficient funds at the moment and a long-standing commitment to deliver these with support from the 80% Scottish government funding," he said.

He added the "real pressure" on the council would be the impact of Employer National Insurance Contributions (ENICs) which would take about £6m out of their budget.

However, he stressed the council was supportive of the town centre through initiatives like its Town Centre Living Fund.

'Hugely outdated'

Conservative Gail Macgregor stopped short of committing to removing any spending from her group's budget but said it had concerns about its "viability and affordability".

"This is a hugely outdated proposal with technology and flood mitigation having moved on," she said.

"There are also concerns relating to the loss of green space at the Greensands and impact on local businesses during the proposed construction phase."

She added that although the council had previously voted to progress the scheme its costs would be re-evaluated to decide if it was "affordable and viable".

"At a time of huge fiscal constraint with massive cuts to be met, both revenue and capital, we do question if this is the best use of public resource," she said.