Ballyhale Flood Relief Scheme

The Ballyhale Flood Relief Scheme is a major investment in the safety and resilience of the area which has a history of flooding affecting homes and businesses. Once complete, the scheme will provide protection for over 27 residential and business properties in the town, as well as resolving significant flooding affecting local roads and access.

DBFL have been appointed across 5 stages of Scheme development from Option Selection through Planning, Tender, Construction and Handover

Initially DBFL’s multidisciplinary design team carried out a range of studies to identify Social, Environmental, Economic and Technical Constraints. Hydrological & Hydraulic Modelling was completed to establish the existing flood mechanisms and extents. Extensive Public Consultation was carried to incorporate local knowledge and into the scheme design and to understand and address stakeholder concerns. DBFL then developed a range of potential flood relief options, each option was subject to a Multi Criteria Analysis with Social, Environmental, Economic and Technical scoring to determine the most suitable solution to take forward to planning.

The final scheme submitted for planning consists of a range of interventions along the watercourse reach to enhance the flow capacity and level of defence through the town so that the design flows can be conveyed through the town without causing property flooding. Works proposed include removal of historically introduced flow split and recombination of stream flows, removal of hydraulic barriers along the watercourse, flood defences (embankments and walls) and upgrades of existing bridges and culverts. The scheme also includes a number of environmental measures to improve fish pass and environmental conditions in the watercourse. Of particular note is a new public realm riverside park and walkway which is to be delivered on lands acquired for the flood scheme.

As part of the planning deliverables for the scheme, the DBFL team prepared an Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) and Natura Impact Statement. DBFL also prepared all Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) documents to secure the lands required to construct and operate the scheme. DBFL also produced all documents required for OPW Stage approvals during design development including Constraints Reporting, Hydrology and Hydraulics Reports, Option Selection Reports and Cost Benefit Analysis