Dumfries and Langholm flood scheme fates unclear as funding plug pulled

Campaigners against flood protection schemes in southern Scotland have said they hope they will be halted for good.

It comes after Dumfries and Galloway Council agreed a budget which includes no development funding for the projects in Langholm and Dumfries.

Both the Save Our Sands (SOS) and Ditch the Drain (DTD) groups have welcomed the Conservative spending plans.

They said they hoped the current plans would now be shelved and alternative approaches found.

The history of both projects goes back many years.

Langholm emerged as a priority area for flood protection back in 2007 but plans taken to the public in 2021 generated hundreds of letters of opposition.

The Whitesands project in Dumfries was approved in 2020 shortly before the Covid pandemic which has delayed its implementation.

Opponents have raised concerns about its visual impact and the loss of parking spaces.

The Conservative budget was the only one of three being proposed which did not provide development funding over the next decade.

It was supported by two independent councillors who represent the areas covered by the flood schemes.

Now campaigners say they hope it will be the end of the road for the projects as currently proposed.

SOS spokesman John Dowson said: "The conclusion we have come to at the moment is that the Whitesands scheme - as we say - is dead in the water.

"One of the things we are calling for is what we call a 'whole river approach' and that means looking upstream and downstream and not just focusing on one short bit of river which is the Whitesands."

The DTD group in Langholm has also welcomed the news.

Campaigners said that over the past three years they had highlighted a number of serious flaws with the local authority's flood protection blueprint for the town.

They are lobbying for a more sensitive and affordable scheme to be developed in partnership with the community, to avoid the need for another public inquiry.

A statement from the council said the Whitesands scheme remained part of its 10-year capital investment strategy although the budget did not make provision for a £200,000 investment to progress the plan.

It also confirmed an application had been made to bring forward works in the Greensands area - which are part of the scheme - to deliver alternative parking in the area.