Residents fear floods if Leitrim Village minor relief scheme is carried out

Residents in Drumhierney Manor housing estate in Leitrim Village are very concerned that their houses will be flooded due to a temporary Flood Relief Scheme at the nearby Cluain Oir estate in the village, it was revealed at a meeting of Carrick-on-Shannon Municipal District this week.
Senior Engineer in Leitrim County Council, Shay O'Connor spoke to members about the topic and allayed fears that the works would cause flooding in the estate.
All members had received correspondence from residents in Drumhierney Manor, Leitrim Village, about concerns they have about work being carried out there.
Mr O'Connor stressed: “We would not do something to protect one housing estate that would cause flooding in another.”
Addressing the meeting, Mr O'Connor said the council got approval from the OPW before Christmas under the Minor Flood Relief Schemes to provide a temporary embankment and culverts in the Keadue Road to provide protection to the Cluain Oir housing estate.
“The Drumhierney residents have said they are worried their houses will be flooded, or their pumping station or gardens, and I told them their houses will be protected but the gardens may flood,” he said.
He explained that a commitment has been made to talk to people before anything is published.
“We have to make a decision on the level of protection we are going to give to the Cluain Oir housing estate,” he said.
He continued that a level of protection “roughly around the 2009 flood level” will be given but they are still in the decision-making stage.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Enda Stenson said that machines are on site and “work is underway” and “that is what's concerning a lot of people.”
Cllr Paddy Farrell said he is getting the “brunt” of the concerns and said work has been carried out and he understood the residents' concerns because “last time it flooded, it was up to their back doors.”
Cllr Finola Armstrong-McGuire said it was a “reality check for where people have built their homes and invested their life savings.”
She asked when Mr O'Connor would communicate with the residents and added “it's a pity that it comes to a panic stage in anything” and said preliminary talks would have been “advisable.”
Cllr Sean McGowan agreed that work has already started and said residents should have been consulted before the “machines went in” and that would have “eased concerns.”
He noted that Leitrim Village was “badly hit back in 2009 so there is huge concern.”
Cllr Des Guckian said that the issue was that planning permission was given to twenty houses in “an area liable to flooding.”
Cllr Stenson asked if Drumhierney Manor estate had been taken charge and was told by Martin Donnelly, Planning Enforcement Officer, that it is one of the developments that the council are seeking to take in charge and are currently in discussions with the developer who owns the common area.
Cllr McGowan said that Uisce Éireann are “awfully slow” in taking estates in charge.
He was told that the taking in charge process involves both the council and Uisce Éireann and said it was down to a “matter of resources” and “not Uisce Éireann causing any problems.”
He said the council “pushed through 50 estates without getting consultation from Uisce Éireann and now have to go back and get their agreement because of ministerial order for transfer of the maintenance of those estates over to Uisce Éireann hasn't been done because we went ahead without an agreement with Uisce Éireann. We now have to clean up the mess we've created.”
Mr O'Connor again stated that no work had yet started but stated that residents in Cluain Oir housing estate were getting concerned about rising water levels and the council placed large sandbags in the field nearby to stop the water going across Keadue Road “at a certain level.”
“Luckily the water has gone back down again (this week) and hopefully it will stay down.”
He said that “we can't relax until the end of March really, which is when the flood season ends.”
He said a “letter drop” was carried out on Friday last in the estate and they talked to “Drumhierney residents and told them what we were thinking of doing. The Cluain Oir people are well aware of what we're doing and we've been in discussion with them about this for years.”
He said he will be in contact with residents about the topic as soon as possible and will again stress that “no decisions have been made. We'll be having discussions with residents from both housing estates before we publish any proposals officially,” he said.

Leitrim Village Flood Relief Scheme
Meanwhile, Mr O'Connor explained there is also the main Leitrim Village Flood Relief Scheme which will go to An Bord Pleanála and that it will be a number of years before it is in place; they sought the temporary flood relief scheme in the interim.
He said details on the Carrick-on-Shannon scheme must also be finalised before the main Leitrim Village scheme can go ahead.
Mr O'Connor said they are in the design stage currently and the scheme will be going before members when a Part 8 planning application is being sought and they are in discussions with consultants .
Mr O'Connor said that while proposals have been formed, no decisions have been made on those works.