Long awaited flood defences officially opened

Scottish environment minister Roseanna Cunningham and Scottish Borders Council leader, David Parker, unveiled the scheme on Monday, February 27 at 11am at the town’s Bannerfield Plaza next to the new Bridge Street footpath.

They were joined by primary school pupils from across Selkirk who opened the ceremony with a rendition of Singing in the Rain. The schoolchildren later buried a time capsule at the site.

The £31.4m scheme will protect 600 properties and will include 3.4km of walls and embankments from the Ettrick and Yarrow confluence all the way up to the Oregon Timber building at Dunsdalehaugh.

Ms Cunningham said: “Flooding can have devastating consequences for individuals, businesses and communities and that is why we are working with partners and investing in schemes to protect against flooding.

“The opening of this new scheme is good news for Selkirk and will provide lasting protection for around 600 properties against the sort of flooding that has affected this area.

“We are committed to reducing flood risk across Scotland. We will continue to make available £42million a year to fund important new projects to protect communities most at risk from flooding.”

More than 150 people worked on the scheme at its peak, with around half being Borders residents.

Mr Parker told the crowd: “It is a real pleasure and honour to be here along with the minister Roseanna Cunningham to open the long awaited Flood Protection Scheme. Just to give you and idea of how important the scheme is, on Saturday the scheme stopped the Long Philip Burn from flooding.

“I must say thank you to RJ McLeod who have worked tremendously hard. Thanks to our design team CH2M, who are a very important team which has been with us from the start and who did some tremendous design work.”

He added: “This is a momentous day for Selkirk.

“Around 600 homes and businesses now have protection from major flood events thanks to the Selkirk Flood Protection Scheme, the largest project of its kind delivered by Scottish Borders Council.

“We must thank the Scottish Government for their support of this project, which we believe will encourage business growth and employment, as well as provide protection to people’s homes from major flood events.

“The Council will continue to take forward the Hawick Flood Protection Scheme with the aim of providing similar protection to its residents and businesses.”

“The opening of this new scheme is good news for Selkirk and will provide lasting protection for around 600 properties against the sort of flooding that has affected this area.

“We are committed to reducing flood risk across Scotland. We will continue to make available £42 million a year to fund important new projects to protect communities most at risk from flooding.”

Calum Kerr, MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, also attended the event. He told The Southern: “There’s been a fantastic turn out here today.

“These projects cost a huge amount of money and the difference they make to a town is massive. As we heard, just this weekend we know parts of Selkirk would have flooded and we know that would have caused massive damage.

Councillor Gordon Edgar, the council’s executive member for roads and infrastructure, added: “Selkirk’s history is entwined with the rivers, burns and waters which surround it.

“They have provided the town with work through the mills but also created havoc, from the flood of 1977 which brought down the Auld Stane Brig, to the floods of 2003 and 2004 which devastated Bannerfield and Philiphaugh in particular.

“All flood schemes take a long time to plan, design and then build, but I am delighted Selkirk now has a completed scheme which will protect homes and make it easier for businesses in the Riverside area to secure flood insurance.

“We hope this will lead to the regeneration of the area and encourage the creation of jobs.”

“It’s fantastic to see it all finished and now we hope to see something like this soon for Hawick.”

A public art exhibition was also held to coincide with the opening as part of the scheme’s community benefits programme.

13 proposals were on display at Philiphaugh Community Centre between 1pm and 5pm on Monday, Febuary 27, and on Tuesday, February 28 between 11am and 5pm.

11 artists have been competing to secure a commission of more than £30,000 for one of three being installations at spots close to the Riverside and Long Philip Burn footpath network.

The Southern Reporter’s Facebook page has a collection of short videos about some of the proposed artworks. These can be viewed at www.facebook.com/TheSouthernReporter.