A public consultation day in respect of the proposed Ballina Flood Relief Scheme will be held later this month, according to information attained by Deputy Dara Calleary TD.
Deputy Calleary raised the matter as a Parliamentary Question in the Dáil last week and was informed that the scheme is currently at the preliminary design phase.
"The Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform has informed me that the consultants appointed earlier this year have carried out extensive data collection in order to collate the relevant data, to feed into design models and identify potential solutions to the flood risk in the Bachelor's Walk, Arbuckle Row, Howley Terrace and Clare Street areas of Ballina.
"The project team are planning a Public Consultation day in September to engage with the public and to gather any further local knowledge, photos, videos, etc. of flood events, which would aid the consultant engineers with their design work.
"The event will be held virtually with all documentation and resources provided online. This virtual event will also afford the public the opportunity to ask questions and communicate with the project team.
"There will also be a physical public consultation held in Ballina for residents who may not have access to the internet or who would prefer to engage with the project team in person, albeit in a safe and controlled environment, with the necessary protocols in place.
"This public consultation will bring the team closer to establishing the feasibility of a number of options for works that could be implemented to protect Ballina as well as seeking to engage the public in the process. Following this, the preferred option will be prepared for planning consent as appropriate," explained Deputy Calleary.
