Council sets date for follow-up flood meeting in East Inverness

The Highland Council has set a date for a second public meeting to discuss flooding on the East side of Inverness. The meeting will be held on Thursday 24 November 2011 at Culloden Academy, Inverness, starting at 7:30pm.

At an earlier public meeting held on 18 August, attended by around 200 local people, the Provost Jimmy Gray, Chairman of The Highland Council’s Inverness City Committee gave an assurance that a further meeting would be held to update the public on the actions being taken to reduce the risk of future flooding.

At the meeting in August, the Council invited the public to contact them with information on local flooding concerns and since then the Council has received feedback from 55 residents via questionnaires, emails and letters on recent flood concerns. The majority of respondents have been visited to investigate the problems by Council TEC Services staff.

Representatives from the Council’s TEC Services, and Planning and Development Service; Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA); Northern Constabulary; Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service; Forestry Commission (Scotland), Scottish Flood Forum, and Scottish Water will be in attendance at the meeting on the 24 November.

An update will be given on the work being carried out by the Council’s flood team and JBA consultants who have been appointed by the Highland Council to undertake a detailed study of the underlying causes of the flooding.

Neil Gillies, Director of TEC Services, will also give an update on the measures which are being considered to reduce the risk of future flooding.

Further information on planning matters, including progress with new Council advice on how better to assess and mitigate the link between new building and flooding, will be provided by Stuart Black, Director of Planning and Development.
 
The Council has been working closely with its partner agencies including SEPA and Scottish Water.

An information booklet “Managing Flood Risk in the Highlands” is about to be published by The Highland Council. The booklet explains the various responsibilities of the Highland Council, Scottish Water, SEPA and property owners for flooding. It also gives advice on how to be prepared, what to do if properties are affected by flooding, and the Council’s role during flooding.