Two levels of flooding response as councillors agree to independent review

There were several takeaways from Monday evening’s special council meeting called to discuss the impact on the district of last week’s unprecedented flooding that swamped Sugar Island, Sugar House Quay and Basin Walk as well as Merchants Quays and parts of Monaghan Street and Catherine Street. 

Firstly, the original motion put forward by Sinn Féin and the Alliance party that included calling for a “robust and comprehensive review of its [council] response throughout these incidents should commence immediately” lacked any details.

Was it an in-house council review and not for the public? Was it a council review that included participation by members of the business communities and any other interested parties, and the results made public or, was it an independent review with no ties to the council, open to participation by businesses impacted by the flooding, their representatives and other relevant parties? 

It was unclear until SDLP councillor Gareth Sharvin proposed as amendment, accept by councillor Hanlon, seeking an “independent review of this serious incident”; but he had no further details of exactly the format such an independent review would take or a timeframe.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, what the meeting did reveal was a two-level response from council management to the flooding crisis.

Anyone attending could not have been struck by the praise heaped upon council leaders for their response but, as councillor after councillor spoke, it became clear that the response from the council differed between Downpatrick and Newry.

Councillors on the ‘Downpatrick side’ of the district acknowledged and praised management’s reaction to events, and their contribution and presence on the ground in Downpatrick and Newcastle but Sinn Féin Newry City councillor Aidan Mathers and Crotlieve Independent councillor Jarlath Tinnelly told of the reality of the response in Newry.

Absent

Cllr Mathers noted the absence of senior council management on the ground in Newry and called for the council to take the lead on the District’s recovery.

“On the ground, the business community were asking where the senior council officials where,” said Cllr Mathers.

“In the absence of [senior] council officials being on the ground and providing support, I want to commend people like Eamonn Connolly from Newry BID who were there, in the thick of it, offering practical help and support to those who needed it. 

“Most of the damage done was to commercial and local businesses which have been decimated. Most of these businesses are family run and as well as that, [there are] a lot of food outlets who can't relocate due to the logistics and nature of their operations. 

“Businesses need answers as to how this happened and more importantly, what steps will be taken to prevent future occurrences. 

“It wasn’t just the town centres that were affected. A focus needs to be placed on Flurry Bridge Enterprise Park [in Jonesborough] which was also devastated by flood damage. 

“The council needs to step up and take the lead in the recovery of our district and ensure proper support mechanisms are put in place.”

‘Who knew what and at what time?’

Welcoming the review, Rostrevor native and Independent councillor, Jarlath Tinnelly, said there needs to be a focus on what the council and other agencies could have done in advance of the flooding and that any review should be robust and transparent.

“I’m glad to hear there is going to be an independent review and I hope it’s a very robust independent review Chairperson, that will shine the light and ask awkward questions including of our council, to see and identify the shortcomings and the problems that may have arisen last week that could have been mitigated against,” said Cllr Tinnelly.

“We are hearing all sorts of stories, certainly I am, coming out of Newry where people, the term that is being used - ‘felt abandoned’ - over the couple of days following the flood.

“Councillor Mathers has already touched on it; that senior council personnel were invisible on the ground - that was the perception in the days following the worst excesses of the flooding and people felt they weren’t getting the information in a timely manner.

“But it is also important to acknowledge the work that was done post the catastrophic situation both in Newry and Downpatrick. 

“But we cannot lose sight of the focus that needs to be put on as to what council could have done, as to what other agencies could have done, pre the damage that took place, pre the event happening.

“Who knew what and at what time? 

“These are the questions that need to be asked.

“I heard one of the shop owners on [the radio] this morning [Monday] to say that he was contacted by a fellow businessman at 10pm on  Monday night [October 30], and that was the first word he had of that [the flood] but yet one of the agencies had also been on the radio this morning saying multi-agency meetings had been going on all through the day and all interested parties were being kept abreast and kept aware of what was happening and what was likely to happen.

“So, that’s what I am going to hone in on chairperson, ‘who knew what and when they knew it?’

“Because the livelihoods that have been destroyed in both Newry and Downpatrick has been simply breath-taking.

“I know that we had previously a multi-agency flood resilience group within the council. I’m not even sure chairperson if that still meets. 

“I know formally it used to meet on a quarterly basis and that group, I am led to believe, was there, was in place to identify and be able to head off the problems before they happened. 

“So, when this review happens, it should be robust, it should be transparent and everybody that has anything to add to this review needs to be invited to make their contribution.”