Fethard residents highlight flooding fear

Residents of The Valley in Fethard, an area prone to flooding from the Clashawley River, have appealed to Tipperary County Council to support them in their efforts to prevent flooding of their homes.

They have made an impassioned plea to Tipperary County Council to take the Watergage Mill property off the market as they believe the property should be in public or community ownership as it holds the key to resolving the flooding issue in the town.

A sale of the property, residents contend, would mean that it would be impossible to reopen a sluice channel which is part of the property, and also one of the blocked arches in Watergate Bridge. This would significantly improve the chances of preventing their homes from being flooded.

Denis Shine lives in The Valley, and he is concerned about the For Sale sign that has been placed on the Watergate Mill property.

“The road outside my house was raised by the council two years ago. Now the floor of my house is below the level of the road. If there is flooding, the water will be coming into my house,” said Denis Shine.

He said the council never consulted with any of the residents about the raising of the road.

“They did a good job on the road, but nobody spoke to us about what it would mean for flooding in the future,” said Denis.

Denis hoped that the council would now back the residents in the battle against flooding and take the Watergate Mill property off the market.

He said the Mill held the answer to the flooding, as it was possible to have six archways in the bridge rather than the existing four if the archway under the mill was opened up and another blocked archway cleared.

“If Watergate Mill is sold, that will be the end of it as nobody will be able to do anything about the flooding then,” said Denis Shine.

Alan Moore of Fethard Community Council said public ownership of the property gives control to address the flooding situation by opening up two extra archways.

Four years ago, community groups highlighted the need to have the property in public ownership. Discussions were held with Tipperary County Council. At the time, community groups, said Alan Moore, were told that there were no deeds for the building and that title would need to be established before the local authority could address new ownership.

There was an understanding, he said, that the Community Council would be given first option to acquire the mill when title deeds had been established.

Alan Moore said the people of the town were surprised to see the property up for sale without informing community groups.

He said the groups were now calling on the council to take the Watergate Mill property off the market with immediate effect to allow the Community Council to explore funding opportunities including a community GoFundMe initiative to buy the property.

“We are confident that we can raise the necessary money given the high level of community interest in Watergate Mill and the proven track record of our community in successfully acquiring and restoring similar properties to date,” said Alan Moore.

The community groups believe that the two blocked arches in the medieval Watergate bridge, which would allow high water volumes to pass through if opened up could resolve flooding issues.

They also believe a rebuilt archway at the Abymill footbridge which, due to its construction, also acts as a dam to flood water, would immediately relieve water pressure.