Debate contribution: Flooding: Six Mile River
Debate contribution by Mr Declan Kearney on .
- MLA
- Mr Declan Kearney
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 17 February 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Adjournment
- Heading
- Flooding: Six Mile River
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5395117
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Gabhaim buíochas le mo chomhghleacaí as an díospóireacht seo a thabhairt chun an Tí inniu.
I begin by acknowledging the hurt caused to the residents of Riverside, Massereene Street and Meadowside in particular and the resilience of those communities. They are little neighbourhoods that border the Sixmilewater. We are looking at them today against the backdrop of the recent devastating flood and the damage that it caused to their properties and neighbourhoods, which are historic neighbourhoods of Antrim town. Regrettably, there is a long history of flooding in those areas. The most recent incident, which was caused by storm Chandra, is the worst flood to have impacted on local residents' homes since the extreme weather event of August 2008. On 28 January, the day after storm Chandra, I joined my party colleague and Minister for Infrastructure, Liz Kimmins, on a visit to Riverside to meet residents who were directly impacted. That was an opportunity for the Minister to hear from local people about the pattern of flooding that that community had endured for many years and about their real fears around the prospect of future heavy rain and the potential for river levels to rise again. At that time and since then, through formal correspondence, I have urged the Minister to expedite completion of the flood risk feasibility study, which is scheduled to be concluded in the summer. It is imperative that that report delivers concrete recommendations with the capacity to guarantee the safety of local people and their homes. I have explained to the Minister and her officials that there must be a strategic focus on the contributory factors to the swell of the Sixmilewater during exceptional rainfall. Those factors include upstream developments and associated planning decisions; a failure to comply with planning decisions; and the ineffectiveness of the existing drainage infrastructure, particularly in the vicinity of Riverside and Massereene Street. I note the Minister's response to my assertion that there was a complete collapse in the departmental response on the day. I also note that the review that I requested of the failure of the critical response measures that day has been carried out. Immediate action is required to allay residents' genuine fears. I am therefore relieved that operational and communication protocols at Riverside have been reviewed and updated with immediate effect to ensure the strengthening of future operational readiness. The Minister has stated that she welcomes the constructive and robust nature of the meeting hosted by the Riverside and Massereene Street (RAMS) residents' group on 4 February and, as a result, will proceed with a meeting of the regional community resilience group (RCRG) in the coming weeks. I welcome the fact that, in response to my ongoing representations to the Minister, she has agreed to authorise senior officials to meet RAMS in advance to brief on decisions and actions already agreed and to use that engagement to inform the approach of the next meeting of the RCRG. I welcome the fact that the Minister will invite elected representatives from the area to attend that meeting.
Yes.
Thank you for that intervention. I agree that we require a holistic and strategic focus, and that that type of approach would be very helpful to everybody in the region. The kind of approach that is being set out is necessary to provide reassurance to local people that they have not been abandoned until the onset of the next flooding incident. They and we — their representatives — need to know that the appropriate agencies have the resources and plans in place to meet their responsibilities and to intervene effectively in case of future increased river levels. The flooding associated with the Sixmilewater has become an issue of public confidence, and there must be a step change on an inter-agency basis. That must include an NIW review of drainage infrastructure, and I am seeking appropriate action in that regard. My and residents' concerns about the standard of existing infrastructure are well known to NIW, because we presented them directly to the agency in December 2024. I urge the Minister to support my call for the review to be undertaken as a matter of priority so that, when defects and weaknesses are identified, the remedial works can be programmed without delay.
716 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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