Councillor calls for flood defence schemes for Golspie to be fast-tracked after village hit once again by flooding at weekend
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Sutherland’s leading councillor has called for an urgent meeting with Highland Council officials and other stakeholders after Golspie was hit by severe flooding at the weekend for the second time in months.
Cllr Richard Gale, chairman of Sutherland County Committee and a Golspie resident, said flood defences in the pipeline for the village needed to be speeded up.
High tides and strong winds over the weekend flooded low-lying Golspie Golf Course, caravan park and the North of Scotland Kart Club kart track.
Waves overtopped the sea wall in the centre of the village and breached a former hotel and a building used by Royal Mail behind Golspie Pharmacy. Properties along the sea front were threatened.
READ ALSO
Preferred option for Golspie sea defence scheme is £5 million bank and barm revetments
It is only three months since Golspie suffered extensive flooding with barriers along the sea wall completely flattened between the Seafront Centre and the Free Church of Scotland.
Cllr Gale said: “The flooding issue is a real concern and the frequency of events is evidence of the fact that sea levels are rising and this is clearly going to continue.”
He pointed out that the A9 was less than 50m away from the sea with many businesses and homes in between.
Two flood defence projects are being proposed for Golspie – Highland Council wants to raise the height of the existing sea wall by 90cm, which would cost £1.3 million, and Go Golspie Development Trust is pushing ahead with a £5 million ‘bank and berm revetments’ project.
Waves would still overtop the sea wall but would be absorbed by the bank and berm revetments.
Cllr Gale said an application to the Scottish Government for funding to raise the sea wall would not be decided until 2025 and the work would not take place until 2026.
“We have to be much more proactive and we cannot wait until 2026. We need to defend the village and we need these sea defences sooner rather than later,” he said. “But we can’t do this in isolation. Highland Council has to work with us.”
He has written to Highland Council executive chief officer for infrastructure Malcolm Macleod, asking for a meeting of interested parties. He is also asking the authority to seek an urgent decision on the sea wall funding application. And he is urging Highland MSPs to support the call for an urgent decision on the sea wall application.
“Discussions need to continue,” he said. “Losing the A9 as well as properties is not an option for us. We cannot afford it.”
He added: “These plans will only protect the village. They are not going to defend the golf course or the caravan park or the kart track. We need to find a solution for them as well. The golf course in particular is an integral part of the village's economy and it has to be protected."
Meanwhile Henrietta Marriott of Golspie Flood Group said it would meet on Monday, March 4 to discuss a "village wide strategy for flood risk management" and also to see what residents could do to help themselves.
She asked anyone interested in attending the meeting to contact her via Facebook page.
