Officials hear flooding concerns from Omagh residents

RESIDENTS of an area of Omagh that was hit by intense flooding last winter have shared their ongoing concerns with officials from a variety of statutory organisations.

After relentless rain, many homeowners and businesses in the Brookmount and Tamlaght Road area suffered damage to their premises, with one resident describing the flooding as a ‘nightmare’.

Environmental health and infrastructure officials visited the area this week to address the challenges faced by the community, namely the potential for blockages in a nearby stream and structural issues with the bridge, in the hopes that a long-term solution can be reached to neutralise the threat of a repeat incident.

Speaking with the UlsterHerald, Alliance councillor, Stephen Donnelly, said, “Following an outbreak of multiple instances of intense flooding during last winter, I met with residents and business owners in the Brookmount and Tamlaght Roads who had experienced damage to their property.

“As a consequence of this Alliance brought a proposal to council, which was agreed, that we would have an inter-agency meeting on the ground involving council, Rivers Agency, Roads Service and locally-impacted residents.

“I want to thank local residents who made their concerns heard this week and I am grateful that we were able to have a constructive discussion of the challenges locally on Brookmount and Tamlaght Road during intense flooding, particularly with respect to the pressures created by the nature of the nearby stream and the structure of the bridge.

“There is a clear imperative in the short-term to ensure proper and robust maintenance so that blockages do not occur in the stream that will exacerbate the situation, and going into the future, we need to think creatively about structural mitigations that can be put in place to further alleviate the pressure in this area.

“Working in partnership, I am hopeful that we will be able to tackle this challenge,” added Cllr Donnelly.