Labour fears city cash crisis will hit flood protection

Published on Monday 24 December 2007 09:43

FLOOD prevention measures to protect thousands of city homes could be under threat because of the council's cash shortage, Labour claimed today.

Sarah Boyack, MSP for Edinburgh Central and the party's environment spokeswoman, claimed a change in government funding had placed a question mark over the 46.5m Water of Leith flood defence scheme.

The Scottish Government insists Edinburgh will still get the money it was promised for the work – 80 per cent of the total costs.

The council says it is committed to implementing the scheme, but the cash is no longer ring-fenced exclusively for anti-flooding measures.

And Ms Boyack fears that means the money could be used for something else as the council struggles to make ends meet.

She said flood defences along the Braid Burn would continue to receive specific funding because work was already under way.

The Water of Leith scheme, where work is due to start next year, will have to be funded from the overall budget provided to the council by the government.

She said: "The council will have to make that funding decision in a year where they are already making substantial cuts in schools and they are under serious financial pressure.

"Everyone knows it is a council in crisis trying to cut its budget. That's why it's bad news that the Executive is no longer ring-fencing this money. It could be used for something else."

Ms Boyack added that no-one knew exactly how much money each council was going to get.

"This is a scheme we have been needing since the last floods in 2000 when a lot of my constituents were out of their homes for months.

"I'm very concerned there should be any question mark over the speedy completion of this."

The work includes raising footbridges at Belford Road and Well Court on the Water of Leith Walkway to stop flood debris catching in them. Outer walls of properties in Canonmills will be strengthened and defences at the Harperrig Reservoir will be boosted.

Environment Minister Michael Russell said cash going to local authorities included resources to honour flood prevention scheme commitments, such as Water of Leith, on an 80/20 basis.

And he said the 126m being made available for flood prevention schemes across Scotland over the next three years represented a 41 per cent increase.

He said: "It is the responsibility of each local authority to allocate its total financial resources based on local needs and priorities, having fulfilled its statutory obligations and jointly agreed a set of national and local priorities."

He added the government was keen to ensure flooding issues were covered in local outcome agreements being negotiated with councils.

Andrew Holmes, Edinburgh's director of city development, said: "The council is committed to delivering this extremely important scheme which will bring peace of mind to thousands of residents and businesses who have either been affected or are vulnerable to the threat of flooding.

"We are looking forward to working with the Scottish Government, which recently stated that the Water of Leith scheme was vitally important, in order to alleviate these concerns."