Bray Town Council is inviting written submissions from members of the public on six proposed flood- protection options for the town presented during a recent day-long public consultation.
Bray Town Council and the Office of Public Works (OPW), through a project steering committee, have devised the River Dargle Flood Study Project.
The six proposed options arising out of this study involve a combination of flood defences, including the possible construction of high walls or embankments along the River Dargle, river widening or regrading, and proposed upstream storage west of the town near Enniskerry. Meetings with residents of the areas potentially most at risk from flooding took place in advance of the public consultation.
Bray has suffered four major floods in just over a century. The most recent in 1986 resulted in considerable damage to properties, particularly in the Little Bray area, after the River Dargle burst its banks when Hurricane Charlie struck the east coast of the country.
Fears of future flooding have been heightened by plans to construct a multi-million euro town centre development on the old Bray Golf Club lands.
During a recent An Bord Pleanála oral hearing to discuss the plans, local flood protection campaign group SWAP reiterated its opposition to the development, insisting that the location would result in an increased risk of flooding to the town.