River Bride campaigners hail win in Blackpool Flood Relief case
The State has conceded to one of the grounds raised in a crowdfunded legal challenge by environmental group Save Our Bride Otters.
Environmental campaigners have given a cautious welcome to yesterday evening’s news that the State has conceded to one of the grounds of their High Court challenge.
Save Our Bride Otters (SOBO) had launched a crowdfunding campaign that raised €18,000 and were seeking a judicial review of the decision by the Minister of Public Expenditure and Reform to grant permission to the Office of Public Works (OPW) to proceed with the €20.5 million Blackpool Flood Relief Scheme.
However, SOBO’s legal team received a letter yesterday afternoon from lawyers representing the State saying that they conceded that there had been “insufficient public consultation” in the process.
A lack of public consultation was just one of seven grounds under which SOBO had sought the review.
How the State’s decision not to fight the case will impact the OPW’s plans for Blackpool Flood Relief Scheme is currently unclear, SOBO spokesman Chris Moody told Tripe + Drisheen last night.
It may mean that the flood defence plans require a new round of public consultation.
Back to the drawing board?
“Hopefully it means back to the drawing board to take on some of the suggestions that have been made,” Chris said. “Upstream storage was considered by the OPW as a viable option and we hope they reconsider this. There are alternative options that don’t involve destroying the river.”
Last March, Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath gave the go-ahead for a flood relief project that would see the River Bride culverted for 350 metres through Blackpool village.
It was reported last April that the OPW hoped construction works would begin in Blackpool early this year.
Chris and others say the River Bride is an important nature corridor and potential public amenity and that covering the river is not the best flooding solution for Blackpool.
In 2016, Chris proved that the Blackpool river, a tributary of the Lee, despite its built up environment, was a city habitat for the Eurasian Otter, a protected species, by setting up motion detecting cameras along the river.
For background, you can read the Tripe + Drisheen Long Read on the issue here:
In a press release published on SOBO’s social media accounts yesterday evening, the group thanked everyone who contributed to their crowdfunding campaign.
Chris said he was “a bit stunned” at the news that the State had conceded, and that the decision to seek a judicial review had been a stressful one.
SOBO would have to wait and see what would happen next, he said: “It’s very early on, so we’ll have to wait and see, but I know we did the right thing by challenging this.”
Positive news for the Bride habitat and people power. Beir bus Chris, Dominic and all involved in the campaign,