Blackford Flood Protection Study

Overview

Perth & Kinross Council has been carrying out a flood protection study for the Blackford area and is seeking the views of the community on the draft outputs.

Why your views matter

Blackford has experienced a history of flooding from the Allan Water and other small watercourses, including the Danny Burn, the Burn of Ogilvie, the Back Burn and the Kinpauch Burn. The most recent significant flood events occurred in February 2020, affecting at least 2 homes and 1 business.  Significant flooding has also been recorded in July 2012 and December 2006.  Other recent high flow events have also occurred in August 2019 and February 2021.

Under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009, Blackford was designated as a Potentially Vulnerable Area (PVA reference 09/12) within the Forth Local Plan District.  Actions to manage flood risk are contained within the Forth Local Flood Risk Management Plan (opens in new tab),  and this included the requirement for a flood protection study.  Further information can be found at www.pkc.gov.uk/frmplans (opens in new tab).

Flood Protection Study

Perth & Kinross Council engaged consulting engineers, Stantec Ltd, and their sub-consultants, Kaya Consulting Ltd, to deliver the flood protection study.  The purpose of the study is to improve our understanding of flood risk to homes and businesses within Blackford and explore potential options for managing and, where possible, reducing the identified risk. 

A substantial amount of data was collected to inform the study from site walkovers, topographic and environmental surveys and river and rainfall records.  Local information was gathered by issuing a community questionnaire (in December 2018) to supplement existing records of flooding.

A hydraulic model was developed to represent the watercourses around the village including the Allan Water, Danny Burn, Back Burn, Kinpauch Burn and Burn of Ogilvie. 

The Identified Risk

The hydraulic model was used to produce maps showing the estimated extent of floods of various magnitudes. The estimated extent of the 1 in 200 year flood (the flood with a 0.5% chance of occurring in any given year) can be viewed below.

Following community feedback, the Council expanded the scope of the study to include surface water (or pluvial) flooding.  This was primarily focussed on the Stirling Street area.  A map of the surface water flood risk can be viewed below.

Managing the Risk

A long list of potential options was initially considered and reduced to a short list through technical appraisal.  The short list consisted of 4 potential options (maintenance/small works; property flood products; flood defences and diversionary channels).  The short-listed options were then tested using the hydraulic model to identify if they were technically feasible. An economic and environmental assessment was also carried out.

The consulting engineers have recommended an option for a flood protection scheme.  Details of the actions and options considered, as well as the recommended option can be viewed below.

Further recommendations from the flood protection study can be viewed below.

How to Respond

Residents are encouraged to provide their views on the initial study findings and recommendations.  A comment form is available to download here and by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page. Please add your views and return, prefereably by e-mail, to gabissett@pkc.gov.uk. Alternatively,  you can post your form to: Gavin Bissett, Technician, Flooding, Housing & Environment, Perth & Kinross Council, Pullar House, 35 Kinnoull Street, Perth, PH1 5GD. 

An online community meeting was also held on the evening of 14 October 2021 and recorded.  This can be viewed below or on YouTube.

What Happens Next

A question and answer document will be circulated to the community after the online event in order to answer any queries/comments received prior to, and during the online event.

The flood protection study will then be updated and finalised.  The conclusions of the flood study will then be reported to the next Environment and Infrastructure Committee.

In the meantime, SEPA has asked local authorities to identify new flood schemes for inclusion in the second cycle of Flood Risk Management (FRM) Strategies and Local FRM Plans covering the period from 2022-2028 which are currently out to public consultation (see below). Information on the recommended flood scheme for Blackford has been submitted to SEPA for prioritisation and potential inclusion on the national priority list of schemes. 

The Council intends that the next Forth Local FRM Plan will set out the proposed implementation arrangements for the Blackford flood scheme, including timescales and funding arrangements. The next phases of work to develop the flood scheme will not commence until after 2022 and will depend on where the project has been prioritised alongside other actions within the Council’s area. Future phases will involve further outline design development, the statutory process under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act, detailed design and tendering before eventual construction and will take a number of years to complete.

The Council will carry out further consultation with the community, landowners and various agencies as the proposals are developed.

National Public Consultation

A national public consultation is currently being run jointly between SEPA, Scottish Water and Local Authorities on the content of the next FRM Strategies and Local FRM Plans.  This includes future actions for the Blackford area within the Forth Local FRM Plan.  We encourage residents to respond to this consultation. The easiest way to have your say is via the national ‘Citizen Space’ website (opens in new tab). 

You can also find further details at www.pkc.gov.uk/frmplans (opens in new tab).