Nov 28 2007
Sea walls facing financial threat
Scotland, Nov 28: The residential areas close to the seashores are facing threat of being flooded as the Edinburgh city council officials are not in a position to allocate fund to strengthen the crumbling sea walls in the flood prone areas. At present there is a shortage of £480,000 for the period of next three years to maintain the vital walls that have been ruined by frequent storms and adverse weather conditions.
A full-fledged maintenance work has to be carried out along the seashores in Cramond and on the sea wall connecting Seafield and Portobello. The total expense required for the fulfilment of all these sea wall maintenance is estimated at £740,000. But the city council allocated only £260,000 in the present budget for the two years period. That leads to the shortage of £480,000, which has to found before 2010-11.
According to the Councillor Phil Wheeler, the city’s transport leader, the flood prevention is under his purview: “The water of Leith floods of 2000 were a recent memory for many people. The council has already started to give shape to the flood prevention schemes at the water of Leith and Braidburn.”
He further added that: “The repair and the maintenance work will not come under the purview of government grants we have to look for an alternative way to gather funding for strengthening these vital defences for the safeguard of the city.”
It is estimated that at least about £150,000 is required for the maintenance work of Cramond sea wall and its breakwater that prevents the River Almond from accumulation and flooding.
“The maintenance work demands lot of money but it is not astronomical. Defences have to be maintained at any cost,” said the Labour’s transport spokesman, Councillor Ricky Henderson.
The protection of seashores by strengthening the seawalls along the seashores is an inevitable one the finances issues have to be sorted out amicably.
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