More than £450,000 is to be spent fighting flooding problems on West Clyde Street in Helensburgh – but Argyll and Bute Council’s deputy leader says even more money might be needed to find a permanent solution.
Cllr Gary Mulvaney was responding to a report on ongoing flood risks on the town’s seafront street, between its junctions with John Street and William Street.
A programme of work worth £452,600 to combat the flooding issues was agreed by members of the authority’s Helensburgh and Lomond area committee on Thursday.
A £152,600 share of the funding will come from money left over from the town’s CHORD project urban realm budget, with the remaining £300,000 coming from a fund set up by the Crown Estate.
Council leader Aileen Morton said at the meeting that the report misnamed the source of the £300,000 as the Coastal Communities Fund.
Cllr Mulvaney, whose Helensburgh Toyota business is located at the junction of John Street and West Clyde Street – a fact he mentioned at the start of the meeting – outlined the issues involved.
He also responded to a request from Cllr Richard Trail for details of how replacing pipes would help to reduce flooding.
He said: “This is quite a complicated issue because of historical flooding beside the Wee Kelpie and the gym next door since CHORD went in.
“As Cllr Trail said, when we have excess water in the system, it cannot cope and it floods at the pinch point to the same area of West Clyde Street.
“Engineers have looked at what the solutions are. Currently we don’t have an indication of all the various services that run under the road.
“From what officers have described to me, if you take some of the water away from the pinch point you are just moving it a separate way. New piping would relieve some of the issues.
“The issue is not high tide; it is flash flooding. Last summer we had three occasions where the area was flooded.
“Officers have looked at whether we can take some of that water and move it via a route nearer William Street or John Street.
“We welcome the works and the budget that is being given. It has been in existence since CHORD was done seven or eight years ago.
“What we haven’t identified is a final engineering solution, which will require excavation work. That may require extra budget; I don’t know.”
The initial report, by interim executive director with responsibility for roads and infrastructure services Kirsty Flanagan, had previously given some information on the subject.
Ms Flanagan said: “The potential solutions for the drainage works will depend on the outcome of trial hole investigations to determine the positions of the many utility pipes and ducts (water, gas, electricity etc.) below the carriageways.
“Once the investigatory works have been undertaken, potential solutions, programme and costs can be considered.
“On the assumption that there will be a worthwhile project within budget, it will be designed and a construction contract procured.”
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