'We have to respect the process': Minister responds to delay of Blackpool flood relief scheme

THE Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), Patrick O’Donovan said the judicial process has to be respected in relation to delays to the Blackpool Flood Relief Scheme caused by objections.

In March last year, the Minister of Public Expenditure and Reform gave the go-ahead to the Office of Public Works (OPW) to proceed with a €20.5m flood relief scheme for the Blackpool area.

However, in June community group, Save Our Bride Otters (SOBO), was granted leave to apply for a judicial review of the decision of the Minister to approve the Blackpool Flood Relief Scheme, due to concerns for the local ecology including otters.

A stay was granted on works being carried, pending the resolution of these proceedings.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform recently said that further public consultation looks set to take place on plans for a flood relief scheme in the Blackpool area. A spokesperson for the Department said it has now “agreed to consent to an order for further public consultation”.

OPW Minister for State Patrick O’Donovan said that when the judicial process is over, the OPW will work with the local authority and local communities to advance the flood relief scheme. 

“We have to respect the judicial process. We have to accept the fact that we are part of a planning process. In that planning process, we have to accept that people have the right to object. 

"As parts of those rights to object, there are judicial processes that come as part and parcel with it. That is what is happening in this case. When they are over the Office of Public Works stands ready to work with the local authorities and with the local communities to advance the flood relief schemes in those areas,” he said.