Left with sandbags because £11.5m Water of Leith floodwall isn’t ready

By CLAIRE SMITH
Published on 09/07/2012 00:00

THE contractors behind a new £11.5m floodwall on the Water of Leith have been criticised for failing to anticipate the effect of the weekend’s heavy rain, which left streets in the Stockbridge Colonies flooded after the river burst its banks.

Residents say part of the old flood wall had been removed in a section where the defence had not been completed.

The breach was blocked by a barricade of giant sandbags – but the torrential rain on Saturday swept that away – leading to a surge of water through the streets.

Mark Enos, a teacher who lives in Kemp Place, said: “What happened is they have taken down some old walls and put sandbags in place. But they needed to take better precautions. They underestimated the power of the water.”

Lagan Construction is working with the City of Edinburgh Council on the scheme which is supposed to protect properties along the river.

Yesterday, residents of the Colonies told how water surged along the street in the early hours of Saturday.

John Nicholas, an aircraft engineer who lives in Kemp Place, said: “I was woken up at 7.45. A neighbour came and said I had better move my car. The car was under water and we had water coming up the garden path.

“It was a big push to get everything in the house up from ground level. Today it is just a big tidy-up.”

Senga Reid, of Bell Place, said she was concerned that the muddy water which was covering the gardens was contaminated with sewage.

She said: “The children just want to play, it’s horrible.”

She added that the response from the council and the contractors had been good – but that it was too slow.
A City of Edinburgh Council spokesperson said: “The Water of Leith Flood Prevention Scheme is still under construction. The defences which were breached due to Saturday’s heavy rainfall were temporary structures. Permanent defences already in place held as designed.

“The council’s taskforce teams are working to clean up affected areas, clearing mud and debris from streets and pavements. After today, we will be contacting residents whose homes have been hit by floodwater to assist them with clearing damaged furniture, floor coverings etcetera.”

The heavy rains in the capital also caused a huge headache for organisers of the annual Taste of Edinburgh Festival, which opened on Friday night but was called off on Saturday after the Meadows became a mudbath. Organisers said they were “devastated” but were forced to halt the event due to health and safety concerns.

Justin Clarke, chief executive of Taste Festivals, said: “Despite all our planning, over the last 24 hours we have experienced some extremely heavy rainfall and our site at the Meadows has become severely flooded. We have been working throughout the night with our health and safety experts and the City of Edinburgh Council parks department to do what we can to make the site operational, but despite all our efforts we have been forced to cancel the show.”

On Saturday night, chefs Mark Greenaway and Paul Whitecross of Angels and Bagpipes set up a “pop-up” restaurant at Summerhall, offering 500 people a gourmet three-course meal for free so food prepared for the festival did not go to waste.

Mr Greenaway said: “We just couldn’t let the food go to waste and are delighted that over 500 people enjoyed it.”