A 'new era' for Cork suburb as long-awaited flood relief scheme given green light

A Blackpool businessman has said the Cork suburb is “heading into a new era”, following the announcement that the Government has approved a €20.5m flood relief scheme for the area.

Public expenditure minister Jack Chambers confirmed on Wednesday that the River Bride (Blackpool) Drainage Scheme will go ahead.

The only way in which the scheme can now be challenged is by way of a judicial review.

The planned works will culvert a 350m stretch of the River Bride to mitigate flooding impacts in Blackpool village, protecting up to 290 residential and commercial properties.

Regenerate the area

Jer Buckley, who owns The Pantry in Blackpool, said the scheme offered a chance to completely regenerate the area.

“Blackpool is a mile from the city centre, and it has untold potential for development,” he said. “This scheme is the key to unlocking that potential and bringing new investment to the area.”

Fianna Fáil TD Pádraig O’Sullivan, for Cork North Central, said anyone who was in Blackpool in June 2012 remembered what happened when the River Bride flooded: “Families and businesses have lived with that fear ever since, many unable to even get flood insurance.”

Fine Gael Cork North Central TD Colm Burke said the flood relief scheme, which was prompted by the 2012 flood, had been in development since 2013, and it now needed to be urgently progressed.

“This scheme is extremely important for the Blackpool area, and a large amount of development has not been able to proceed until such time as the scheme can be completed and delivered."

An initial plan was submitted to the Office of Public Works (OPW) in 2018, and received ministerial confirmation in 2021.

In June of that year, the decision was challenged by a community group, Save Our Bride Otters, which was granted leave to apply for a judicial review.

In January 2022, the State conceded, and the scheme reverted back to an earlier phase.

Public consultation

A final public consultation period regarding the scheme, held last autumn, saw more than 1,000 submissions received by the OPW in support of the project, and 95 submissions which opposed it.

Solidarity-PBP councillor Brian McCarthy said there was “absolutely no defending” the decision to proceed with the scheme, adding it would destroy a habitat and have a permanent, negative impact on Blackpool.

“Researchers hired by the OPW advised them in 2014 that upstream storage is what they should be proposing, so why hasn’t that been done?” he asked.

Chris Moody, of Save Our Bride Otters, said he was disappointed but not very surprised.

“I think our Government is very slow on the environment,” he said.

“You can put in as many bee hotels as you like, and as many flower beds in the city as you like; when you dig up a river, you are causing huge environmental damage.

“Once you put a river underground, that’s it, that section of river is dead.”