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Floody hell in Bridgend again
25.10.11
by Caoimhinn Barr, Inishowen Independent
THE residents of an Inishowen housing estate fear
that their homes will soon be destroyed by
floodwaters if something isn’t done to protect them.
The locals at Bonemaine, Bridgend, say they have
reached the end of their tether with Donegal County
Council after large quantities of water flowed into
the estate following twelve hours of heavy rain. The
area was battered again at the weekend with gales
and persistent downpours.
A group of residents hastily gathered together
scores of sandbags in an attempt to stem the rising
tide but they claim the Council has ‘done nothing’
to alleviate their plight despite numerous phone
calls of complaint over the years.
“This happens at least twice a year and the Council
has never fixed it. We have only one drain near the
entrance to the estate and it gets blocked very
quickly. The water hasn’t gotten into our houses yet
but it’s bound to happen soon because the problem is
getting worse,” one resident said.
Liam Lyons, who has lived at Bonemaine for more than
a decade, said "nothing is ever done".
“They’ve been saying that they are going to put in a
ramp for the past 14 years but they haven’t done it
yet. It was the last straw for us to go to the
papers because we don’t know where else to turn,” he
said.
“The water comes running down Bonemaine Road into
the estate every time it rains heavily and, if it
had kept raining for longer on Monday, it would have
been a total disaster for us,” he added. |
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Residents of Bonemaine, Bridgend, who
are besieged by floodwaters. |
Abie McGuinness, from
Carraig Bridge across the road, said he has put up
with a similar problem for the last seven years.
“I had to quickly drive to a shop to buy a load of
compost bags on Monday. Otherwise the water would
have been in my house. It was right up to my front
door,” he said.
Local County Councillor John Ryan said he has met
with the Roads Department and is confident the
problem will be fixed ‘very soon’.
“I have visited the site at Bonemaine and there are
certainly a number of issues which need to be
addressed in the estate. The Council Roads
Department has since assured me that work will begin
very soon with a proper ramp to be constructed and
extra drains to be put in. I expect this work to be
completed within the next month or so,” he said.
“We also need to ensure that the cause of the
problem is alleviated in terms of keeping shucks
above the estate cleaned so that the water doesn’t
flow onto the road. In this regard, the Roads
Department has been very helpful. I think we also
need to formulate a joint approach to the issue with
Council Housing,” Cllr. Ryan added.
Executive engineer Trevor Gordon said Donegal County
Council was aware of the issue at Bridgend and
working to fix it.
“Donegal County Council Housing Maintenance and
Roads Sections are aware of the flooding problem at
the Council Estate in Bonemaine and the relevant
engineers are currently working together to try to
identify a solution,” he said. |
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