Perth councillors have called for a long-term plan to combat flooding in city centre areas after seeing a rise in the number of cases in recent years.
Councillors Sheila McCole and John Rebbeck want the local authority to act now in the face of the climate emergency which they believe is causing the frequency of floods to increase.
Both politicians saw extensive damage to their wards during last week’s storms with the Cherrybank area and Jeanfield Cemetery, which straddles the two areas, both badly affected.
Ms McCole visited residents in the Low Road and Cherrybank areas, where residents had suffered severe water damage and oil spills contaminating their gardens.
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Ms McCole, SNP councillor for Perth City South, said: “Residents have told me that flooding incidents are occurring with increased frequency, and there is considerable concern that climate change is resulting in changing weather patterns, putting this area at risk of more frequent flooding in the future.
“I believe a more pro-active and joined up approach is required to address both current infrastructure challenges, and to mitigate against future risk arising from the climate Emergency.
“Therefore, I have written to the chief executive of Perth and Kinross Council, seeking assurance on two things; firstly to set up a multi-agency working group to address the specific issues in my ward, and secondly to include infrastructure resilience in its Climate Emergency Action Plan.”
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Her colleague for Perth City North, John Rebbeck, said: “I have constituents who are living with a constant fear of being flooded and who have regrettably been flooded on multiple occasions over the years.
“The reaction from Perth and Kinross Council’s housing department was amazing and I wish to thank them for that but questions need to be asked about how we deal with the environmental health problems that people are left with, such as sewage ending up in their gardens.”
Liberal Democrat councillor for Perth City South, Willie Wilson, also visited the area and said council staff were working hard to repair the widespread damage.
He said: “I fully appreciate how devastating this is.
“Good progress has been made in clearing up the pub car park, repairing the sewer and and partially repairing the bank which were the immediate priorities.”
He added that work and investigations would continue, especially on the contaminated area affected by the oil spill.
