McGuinness welcomes €562,000 flood works for Abbeyside

Sinn Féin local election candidate Conor D. McGuinness has welcomed funding of €562,000 for a project in Abbeyside under the OPW’s Minor Flood Mitigation and Coastal Protection Scheme.

McGuinness said:

“This funding is long overdue and will go towards new infrastructure aimed at reducing the risk of fluvial flooding occurring in the Tournore, Sallybrook, Monksfield, Whitestrand and Clonea Road areas of Abbeyside.

“These areas are currently drained by the Duckspool stream, which discharges water via the marsh adjacent to the Friary, though an old outfall culvert. There is a strong risk of collapse and failure in the current infrastructure, and it is no longer sufficient for the volumes of stormwater that we can expect given the increasingly severe storms of recent years and months.

“It is envisioned that the works will commence in the autumn and be completed by spring 2020. It is important that residents are consulted, as well as management and parents at Scoil Garbhán and St. Augustine’s College. An adequate and sensible traffic management plan will have to be put in place, taking account of the busy periods around school drop-off and collection times.”