Councillors will be asked to progress with the next stage of the Whitesands Project at a meeting of Economy, Environment and Infrastructure committee next week. The Whitesands Scheme is now at a stage where is can be published, in accordance with the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 which Members of the committee will be asked to approve.
Members of the Economy, Environment and Infrastructure committee unanimously approved the Raised Walkway design as the optimal design to provide flood protection and regeneration for the Whitesands at a meeting just over a year ago. Since then, the project team have been enhancing the design and refining some of the detail.
Some positive developments in relation to the Scheme include:
• Reduction in height of the defences – Following Storm Frank and Storm Desmond, the data from these events has now been used to re-calibrate the flood output. This was the worst flood on record at the Whitesands for approx. 35 years but our modelling work shows that the proposed defences would have coped. This work has allowed us to reduce the height of the defences by approx 200mm for the majority of the length of the Scheme. SEPA undertook their own audit and review of these proposals. They have concluded that they are satisfied with the model and confirm it accurately represents the flows on the River Nith.
• Further meetings have been held with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) to discuss the impact of the scheme on the Devorgilla Bridge. These discussions have been very positive and HES have indicated they would be unlikely to object in principle to a flood protection scheme at the Whitesands.
• Car parking has been expanded. Additional spaces have been created at Dockhead and the shop side of the Whitesands. All current parking spaces at the Whitesands are being re-provisioned elsewhere and overall, there will be more parking spaces that are currently being provided. Buses will continue to be fully catered for with new stances being provided on the northbound carriageway.
• Not all the properties at Welldale/Kenmure will require flood defences. Property owners that do require defences have been consulted and are generally supportive of the revised proposals.
• A 3D computer generated model of the scheme that provides a fly-through of what the scheme will look like with additional perspectives including a walk-through, a drive-through and a simulated flood event. This has really helped to show what the Whitesands will look like once the Scheme has been completed. It has been used at the public exhibition and been made available online to raise awareness more widely. Feedback from the exhibition demonstrates their effectiveness with 85% of people saying that they helped show what the scheme will look like and 87% of people saying they knew more about the Whitesands Project following the exhibition.
Chair of the Council’s Economy, Environment and Infrastructure committee, Colin Smyth, said “I am pleased that we are now at the stage to seek Committee agreement to commence the formal process of publishing the Whitesands Project as a Flood Protection Scheme.
“This follows unanimous approval from this Committee a year ago to develop the raised walkway option. We are now in a position to report back to the committee that this has been done as requested which will allow the Scheme to be formally published. Since that date, the Project Team has brought further improvements to the design that was showcased at the recent exhibition held at George Street Church Hall. The exhibition which featured 3D model and virtual reality headsets was extremely well received by those attending and helped to dispelled many of the myths surrounding the project.
“It is unacceptable that the largest town in our region continues to flood. That is why all councillors agreed for a flood protection and regeneration scheme to be progressed for the Whitesands, demonstrating the need for change and putting an end to the regular flooding that has plagued our regional capital for too long.
“But more than a flood protection scheme, the Whitesands Project looks to invest in the town centre, creating high quality public open space that will encourage the use of the Whitesands area as a place to spend time. The design regenerates the area, maintains river views and provides useable public space. Our Council has invested heavily in the Dock Park in recent years which has resulted in it winning a number of awards. We want to extend this vision right along the Whitesands, making it a hugely popular asset for the town, transforming the whole area into a place that people can come and enjoy. By offering confidence to businesses that flooding will be a thing of the past this is seen as a way of stimulating investment in the area.
“It is nearly a year since we witnessed some of the worst flooding that we have had in living memory. With winter upon is again, we want people to feel safe and protected from flooding. Councillors have said enough is enough and we can now stop the disruption and damage that the flooding at the Whitesands causes.”
