Shock image of future Mountmellick floods shown to Laois community

The dire future of Mountmellick if flood defences are not built was made clear to the public at a consultation day held this week by Laois County Council.

Hundreds of local people came to the MDA to view the 'preferred option' of flood walls and huge embankments that are promised to be built by 2026, at a cost of€7.5 million paid by the Office of Public works.

A flood prediction map shows that doing nothing is not an option.

There is a 1% chance of a major flood and it will hit dozens of homes, two primary schools, the Supervalu shopping centre, MDA business park and several streets including the N80 road in Irishtown, Davitt Road, Manor Road and Garroon.

The flood defences have been designed by JBA Consultants, to protect the 100 homes and businesses at risk.

The latest design was expanded after more floods in early 2020, and after public feedback from the last day of public consultation. It is a hybrid of options 2a and 2b shown at that time.

There will be 5km of embankments in fields, 1.5m high and up to 12m wide, to stop the water as rivers flood, with a wide walking and cycle track on top as a new amenity for the town. They will start 500m upstream from the town.

The stone wall along the river walk between Irishtown and Convent Bridge will be replaced with a flood wall set further back, again offering a wide accessible pathway for pedestrians, cyclists and wheelchairs. 

Also set for demolition and a widened rebuild is the stone bridge over the Ownenass in Derrycloney.

There will be flood walls at the back of Irishtown, Grove Park, Brock View and embankments around houses on Manor Road.

Cllr Paddy Bracken, Hannah Chisnall Hydraulic Modeller at JBA Consulting, Gerry Gallagher project engineer in flood risk management with the OPW and Paul McLoughlin, Laois County Council. 

Paul McLoughlin, Laois County Council engineer told the Leinster Express / Laois Live how long it will take.

"It will go to An Bord Pleanála in 2024 for planning approval. In 2025 that should be back and it should be completed by mid 2026. It is quite easy to construct, there is no big technical construction. The biggest part is to get consent. We have engaged with landowners and as we progress towards CPOs that engagement will ramp up. 

"In the meantime we have a rolling three year programme of river maintenance and that will continue until the scheme is operational. After that there will be a maintenance programme funded by the OPW," Mr McLoughlin said.

He said public reaction is "generally positive".

"People seem to understand it well, there are plenty of questions. They are expressing their fear but they also have noticed the river maintenance. We still have the offer of floodgates to buy and sandbags are provided to vulnerable areas when we put out weather warnings," he said.

That fear was expressed by some who attended the day, including Irishtown resident Trish Kelley.

Doris Flannery, Helen Moloney and Trish Kelley at the consultation day. 

"I'm very concerned that it is going to take so long. I also fear it will just move the problem along downstream. I bought the floodgates, but I live in fear. I go out to look at the river after heavy rain. In 2017 I was out of my house for six months, the water came in three foot deep," she said.

Helen Moloney is her neighbour.

"It came up the step in my front door and I kept it out with towels. Luckily we had added a lot of topsoil to the back garden to raise it. It's not just myself, I'm concerned for others that are going to flood. Farmers are telling us that it's going to flood different farms with these defences," she said.

Fran Baker is one of those farmers. He owns Baker's Field behind the MDA, designed to have an embankment cut right through it.

"There is 24 acres in that field, that takes 5 to 10 and leaves the rest useless. I absolutely expect the council to negotiate. This won't go ahead with negotiation. They'll make it useless from an agricultural perspective," he said.

Landowners Fran Baker, Paddy Gorman and Tommy Gorman.

Young couple Adrian and Sinead Dunne live in Garroon one house away from a stream that flooded in 2017.

"We have no problem with the scheme, we want it to go ahead. We had sandbags, we were very lucky. The biggest problem was cars were going through the town at speed, and water was gushing into people's houses," said Adrian.

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"We just want them to do it in the timeframe. If another flood comes and it's worse, they will have to stop and redesign it again. It's great to see progress, it's just a long time coming," Sinead said.

Local Cllr Paddy Bracken from the Mountmellick Borris-in-Ossory Municipal District was at the consultation day.

"I welcome it, I think they've gone for the right option going on their technical advice. It's six years since we had the severe flood, I'm happy to see it go to An Bord Pleanála now," he said.