A war of words has broken out after flooding in the North Inch area of Perth, with the council accused of a “shameless attempt at blame displacement”.
Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser hit out at a statement from Perth and Kinross council chief Barbara Renton.
She had claimed the council had worked with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) and only learnt of an increase in waterflow on Saturday evening, 90 minutes before high tide, leaving the council unable to safely close the floodgates.
But in a response described by Mr Fraser as “brutal”, Sepa said the adverse weather was forecast “well in advance” and that the local authority had been warned of potential flooding on Wednesday October 4 and throughout Saturday and Sunday.
Council ‘failed to act appropriately’ to Perth flood warnings
Scottish Conservative politician Mr Fraser says it shows that the council “failed to act appropriately” to Sepa’s warnings.
He said: “This is a brutal statement from Sepa on the Perth flooding, effectively throwing Perth and Kinross Council under the bus after they shamelessly tried to shift blame for their failure to close the North Inch floodgates.
“Last weekend the council’s initial public statements firmly put responsibility on Sepa for not notifying them in time of rising flood waters.
“But, as the statement from Sepa makes clear, the council were continually updated on the risk throughout Saturday and Sunday.”
In response to Sepa’s comment, leader of the council Grant Laing said: “Along with other elected members in Perth and Kinross, the SNP Administration wishes to consider all the facts and communications between different agencies regarding the flood response over the relevant timeframe.
“These, and the decisions made by officers, will be looked at by the Scrutiny and Performance Committee of Perth and Kinross Council, which is the most appropriate forum for these different factors to be properly considered.
“The aim of this will be to ensure residents they can be confident in the way all the agencies involved deal with similar incidents in the future so there is no repeat of the flooding we saw.”
Murdo Fraser has sent 12 questions to council leader Grant Laing, saying constituents impacted by the flooding deserve to answers rather “blame shifting”.
Several locals described how their homes and businesses had been destroyed.
Local Airbnb owners Derek Swan and his wife Sarah said their ground floor rental property had been devastated.
Elsewhere, shocking footage also showed the extent of the damage at inside the city’s Bell’s sports centre.
Mr Fraser added: “The reputation of the council with local people has never been lower, and they need to start restoring it by being upfront about what when wrong last weekend.”
Mr Laing responded to Mr Fraser’s questions on Friday, stating: “I will be responding to Murdo Fraser MSP today.
“However, it is only once the review has been completed that we will have a full understanding of events and what steps must be taken to prevent any repeat in the future.”
What did Sepa say in response to Perth and Kinross Council?
Lin Bunten, Sepa’s acting chief executive, said: “As with any severe weather event, our teams at Sepa worked around the clock with public partners to prepare for significant flooding impacts over the weekend.
“We monitored rainfall and river levels 24/7, issuing and updating alerts and warnings as required. This event was forecast well in advance and was well responded to across the country.
“Sepa began warning public partners, including Perth and Kinross Council, of potential flooding on Wednesday 4th October in our daily flood guidance statements.
“On Friday 6th October, a flood alert covering the region was issued, an amber weather warning issued by the Met Office for heavy rain was in place, and a major incident was declared by Police Scotland.
“Through Saturday October 7, these messages were updated and repeated with partners.
“In addition to this, on Sunday October 8 at 6.34am, a local flood warning for the specific area was issued, several hours before the flooding impacts occurred.
“A full debrief with partners will take place in due course, as is standard practice.
“In the meantime, Sepa remains fully committed to helping communities and responders plan and prepare for future flood events.”
Conversation