Just weeks after many parts of Perthshire were under water due to extensive flooding, the village of Glendevon has again suffered problems after being hit by heavy rainfall.
The wet weather caused a large culvert under the A823 to become blocked with debris on Wednesday and residents have slammed Perth and Kinross Council for not taking proper action.
One of those worst affected has been Professor John Burchill and he criticised the local authority for “completely failing” to do its duty.
He claimed that an engineer sent to inspect the site after reports of flooding told householders they should be “looking out for themselves.”
Professor Burchil said, “We were told this despite the fact that the flooding is coming from the road and the drainage system. The council has known all about this since the flooding of three weeks ago and, as far as we’re concerned, they have done nothing.
“We have been working all day to stop our houses from being flooded because the council has basically told us that we are on our own. It is their job to work on the road, which they have failed to monitor properly. We are really very angry about this.”
Professor Burchill, who works at Stirling University, told The Courier that while he and his neighbours accepted that last month’s flooding could not have been avoided, they were not willing to be so accommodating over this latest issue.
He believes the culvert has been silted up for a few weeks and the council should have cleared it out properly to prevent water building up.DamageAccording to Professor Burchill, while the recent flooding did not get near households in Glendevon, Wednesday’s incident has caused untold damage to properties and gardens.
In a desperate bid to stop it infiltrating his home, he had spent much of the day digging a drainage outlet in his garden, something he believes the council should have done.
A council spokesman confirmed the culvert was blocked, despite being cleaned only a week ago by a “specialist contractor”.
“Today, two council officers and a team of Tayside Contracts workers have been on site for five hours, providing sandbags and attempting to clear the blockage,” she said. “This work is continuing at present.
“While the council is continuing to address its responsibility to keep the culvert running, private land and property owners also have a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent flooding of their own property and residents have been reminded of this.”