Two of five Athlone flood areas qualify for immediate funding

Tadhg Carey Two of the worst affected areas within Athlone town following the November floods qualify for funding for Minor Flood Relief Works, it has been confirmed. Iona Villas and The Strand both qualify under the scheme's criteria, whilst there is the possibility the council may use its own resources to progress another flood relief plan at The Docks. However, neither Brick Island nor Deerpark Road/Parnell Square is eligible for funding under the scheme. It's believed the number of affected properties in Brick Island was not sufficient to meet the criteria, whilst the likely cost of the work required in Deerpark Road and Parnell Square was larger than the scheme's maximum funding. It's believed a costing of €1.8m has been outlined for a large embankment and a series of pumping stations at the rear of Deerpark Road. However, the designation of large sections of the Shannon Callows as a special area of conservation is also likely to complicate matters. Previously the OPW indicated that it would not consider large scale flood work on the Shannon until at least 2014 as it was preparing a Catchment Flood Risk Management Plans (CFRMP) for the River Shannon basin. Last week, the OPW confirmed funding of €177,323 for flood defences at Iona Villas and €288,748 for similar works at The Strand. No funding was made available to Roscommon County Council. The funds come following a swift application under the Minor Flood Relief Works scheme by Westmeath County Council. Mayor Cllr Mark Cooney, chair of the town council's flood sub committee, updated colleagues on the progress of the sub committee at last night's town council meeting. Cllr Cooney said: "We would like to think that funding would be available for all the areas. But they did not all meet the criteria for the scheme and I'm disappointed at that." "I would hope that the OPW would take on board the large project at Deerpark Road/Parnell Square and start on that immediately. Cllr Cooney said the council was looking into the possibility of using its own resources to progress planned works at The Docks, which did not qualify for OPW funding due to the small number of affected properties in the area. Funding for the works at Iona Villas and The Strand were announced last week by the Minister of State with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW) Dr Martin Mansergh. They were part of an initial €6.7m allocation compared to total allocations of €2.1m in 2009. Minister Mansergh said further applications would be considered for funding during the year. "The application assessment process is continuing, and OPW officials are liaising with a number of Local Authorities regarding applications in respect of which additional information is required." He added that it would be open to local authorities to submit further applications under this scheme during the year, and all applications that meet the relevant eligibility criteria would be considered having regard to the overall resources available.