Infrastructure Minister hears residents' frustrations

SINN Féin’s Declan Kearney has welcomed a visit by Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins to Riverside in Antrim in the wake of the latest flooding incident which left devastation in its wake, and is seeking assurances that ‘urgent and appropriate actions ‘will follow.

“I joined my Party colleague, Infrastructure Minister, Liz Kimmins in a visit to Riverside in Antrim to meet with residents directly impacted by the devastating flooding incident resulting from Storm Chandra,” said the South Antrim rep.

 “Minister Kimmins listened attentively to Riverside residents as they relayed their personal experience of the flooding which overwhelmed homes in this historic Antrim neighbourhood following the rain storm on Tuesday.

“Local people emphasised the pattern of flooding which this community has now endured for decades. Predictably the unresolved fears held by residents were brought sharply into focus once again following this serious flooding incident at Riverside. 

 “Antrim Town Sinn Féin Councillor, Lucille O’Hagan was on the ground throughout Tuesday, liaising with residents and statutory agencies in an attempt to render assistance.

“However, despite the extreme weather warnings issued in advance, the operational response to the crisis failed this local community.

“I told the Minister and her lead official that a clear breakdown had occurred in the response by agencies responsible for implementing agreed interventions in these situations.

“Measures which should have been actioned much earlier were introduced too late.

 “A systematic review is now required to ensure that residents of Riverside and Massereene Street are not exposed to another disaster like this again.

“I have previously advocated on behalf of local people for a properly coordinated response plan to protect against the potential for flooding in these neighbourhoods. I will now be seeking robust commitments from the Department for Infrastructure and other relevant agencies that this will be put place.

“While an extreme weather event was the catalyst for this flood, other factors connected to the standard of existing drainage infrastructure, current upstream developments and planning decisions are contributing directly to this recurring nightmare for the Riverside community.

“Delivering a permanent solution demands these issues are also properly addressed.”

During the site meeting, the Minister visited David and Jim’s home to survey the damage.

She also spoke to Janice Pankhurt, who passed over a list of solutions penned by the late Terry Madill.

The retired engineer from east Belfast, who died tragically and suddenly last year, had been assisting residents in Riverside, Muckamore and further afield in a bid to find ways to mitigate the flood risk.

Gary Quinn, Director of Operations at Department for Infrastructure said: “We appreciate that there were delays... communication issues. It will be reviewed and if there have been failures we will react quickly to that,

Mr Quinn said the DfI “don’t want to see homes flooded, we work hard to prevent that... what happened in Riverside is not reflective of the departments approach to over a thousand calls across roads and rivers, we had about 600 flooding incidents”.

He added that DfI workers arrived at Riverside ‘early’ and ‘provided sandbags to fill a breach on the flood defence’ but there seemed to be ‘some delays about actual pumping (of water) on that site... it was difficult’.

The Minister had twice visited the Antrim area before, including a drainage scheme at nearby Belmont Hall

On Tuesday afternoon, DUP South Antrim MLA Trevor Clarke had launched a scathing attack on the Minister, saying: “The scale of flooding my constituents across South Antrim are experiencing today is the direct result of years of neglect and failure within the Department for Infrastructure under Sinn Féin control.

“Time and time again, communities are flooded because the basic maintenance of drainage infrastructure has not been dealt with. This is not a new issue. These are known problem areas that have been repeatedly flagged and repeatedly ignored.

“A clear example is Riverside in Antrim, which has flooded once again. Residents were given assurances by the Department for Infrastructure that once water levels reached a certain point, pumps would be deployed to prevent flooding.

“What we have witnessed today shows this has not happened.

“The Sinn Féin Infrastructure Minister recently traveled to Antrim to visit the Belmont Hall Housing Development, yet could not find the time to visit a routinely flooded area such as Riverside, where residents continue to live with uncertainty every time heavy rain falls.

“The Minister cannot allow this to keep happening.

“Once again, we are seeing failure at the Department for Infrastructure, and once again it is local people who are paying the price.

“Storms will happen, but flooding on this scale happens when due to neglect.

“The Sinn Féin Infrastructure Minister, Liz Kimmins, is not responsible for the rain, she is however responsible for the drains.

“It is time she takes responsibility.”