Last week saw a couple of important meetings taking place between interested stakeholders in the recent flooding that affected various areas within Freuchie on the 13th August 2008. The previous meeting held on the 27th August was less than satisfactory for residents affected by the flooding, but it appeared that progress has been made in the intervening weeks.

On the evening of Tuesday 6th October, Kingdom Housing met with residents of Freuchie Mill to present their analysis and proposals for the area most devastated in the August flood event. Gordon Bayne, MD of Scott Bennett Associates, put forward a number of schemes to reduce the likelihood of future flooding, but could not rule out the prospect of future flood events occurring regardless of any flood prevention and protection work done. The estimated costs for these schemes range from £50,000 to £350,000 and may take as long as three years to be put in place.

The following evening, Freuchie Community Council hosted another public meeting with representatives from Fife Council and Kingdom Housing being joined on the evening by Gordon Bayne, local councillors and another good turnout from Freuchie residents. Presentations and updates were made by Fife Council, Kingdom Housing and Freuchie Flood Action Group with varied measures of progress being demonstrated by each of the presenters.

Highlight of the evening was from Jim Mullen, Vice Chair of Freuchie Flood Action, who presented alarming rainfall data from SEPA’s Newton of Falkland collection station that graphically showed increasing annual rainfall and lessening fair weather days since records began in 2000. The data supports the supposition that should current rainfall trends continue, we can expect an ever increasing risk of future flooding. The objective for all concerned must be to eradicate the future risk by addressing the root causes of flooding and not simply by responding to the symptoms of it. The action to address the root causes should investigate and support three areas;

1. Better dispersion of water at the A912 as it comes of the hill.

2. Control measures to regulate the flow of water from the A912 and at the New Inn Areas before it enters the village.

3. Support for residents to better protect their homes in the short term.

Freuchie Flood Action Group welcomes the increased collaboration and cooperation between the interested parties, and thanks Fife Council for their assistance and support. The generous offer from Network Rail to assist in the funding of a full hydrology study is recognised as being a significant act of a good neighbour. The whole community hopes this offer of funding will result in a swift commissioning of the study and speed along the completion of this vital report. There is still a long road to travel with further cooperation and closer collaboration required from all stakeholders. Freuchie Flood Action Group estimates the potential costs of a full and proper flood prevention and protection scheme to be in the region of £1m, which is an achievable and realistic funding target.

The group also welcomes the funding allocated from the Scottish Government that allows the National Flood Forum to employ a full time member of staff to work exclusively in Scotland. We look forward to working closely with Paul Hendy of the Scottish Flood Forum over the coming months. The assistance and experience offered by Paul and the National Flood Forum will be invaluable in the group’s future direction, lobbying of politicians at all levels of government and in reaching the ultimate goal of a flood solution for Freuchie.

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