Debate contribution: Flooding: Six Mile River

Debate contribution by Mr Trevor Clarke on 17 February 2026.

MLA

Mr Trevor Clarke

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

17 February 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Flooding: Six Mile River

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5395132

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank my colleague from South Antrim for securing this debate. I concur with lots of the remarks that have been made about the issues that we witnessed that day, albeit, when I came into the Chamber, I thought that there was a party political broadcast for the Ulster Unionist Party and had to ask my colleague what was going on. I thought that we were here to talk about the Six Mile river. The events of that day and the effects of the flooding have, rightly, been highlighted by my colleague opposite. Hearing about those effects comes as no surprise to any of us who attended the meeting that was organised — it has, rightly, been identified — by the RAMS residents' group. Like my colleague opposite, I commend the organisers of that event. It was a very useful and cordial event, and I put on record my thanks to all the officials from all the different agencies who were there. They broke into various groups to try to understand what happened. It was clear that evening — it has been recognised this afternoon — that there was a breakdown in the protocols that had been set in place since the previous floods. Indeed, I, as a representative for the area, was in the unfortunate position of being involved in the flooding in 2008; I had an office at the end of Massereene Street. I saw the effects of the flooding on people then, and I have seen the effects ever since. As was said during a previous debate, those people are living on rain watch or river watch. On every occasion when there is rain, they are out checking the height of the rivers. Indeed, at that event a couple weeks ago following the most recent flooding events, a lady was fit to tell us how many metres the river was at at certain times of the day. It is concerning that that is how those people live their lives. I acknowledge that the Minister was there, albeit belatedly. There has been reference to other developments, and the previous contributor talked about failure to comply with planning conditions. Minister, you were in the constituency a number of months ago looking at a retrospective sustainable drainage system (SuDS). That SuDS was not put in place when the development was occupied initially. People were moved into those houses, and it was only after some time that there was a recognition that the developer had failed to do what he should have done, subject to planning. The SuDS was then put in retrospectively. People in Antrim were very disappointed that you visited on that occasion to see a retrospective system, given the impact that there has been on their houses, but I am sure that they were pleased to see you when you came the day after the floods. That is not whataboutery: we have to say these things. What are we going to do? What will be the long-term effect on those people? On that morning, I went to Ballyclare to lift my party colleague. I thought that talk of how bad the weather was was an exaggeration. I drove on the Templepatrick Road, which was almost impassable because of the volume of water on it. The fields the whole way from Templepatrick to Ballyclare were like a sea. I had never seen that before. I turned on to Jubilee Road, and, where new houses are approved to be built within a few months, it was completely flooded — it was part of the river. That is concerning for me, and I am sure that it will be concerning for those who want to invest in those properties. As sure as day follows night, when those houses are built, there will be a further impact. As has rightly been identified, the residents of Riverside, Meadowside and Massereene Street, who were most affected by the recent flooding, are concerned every time they hear about a development being built close to the Sixmilewater.

I would go further and say that anywhere in the catchment area could be affected. I am known to be pro-development. I will always be pro-development because people need homes to live in. We need to build homes, but we also need to provide the infrastructure in such a way —

I will.

Likewise, one of the early results at Riverside was that drains could not empty out into the river and they filled up. That has already been recognised. There was a protocol in place, and it failed. I am sure that anybody who watched television will have seen the residents talking about making calls from 9.00 am. The pumps did not arrive until the afternoon. Look, that has all been taken on board. It was good to see that the agencies got together after the meeting to try to get a plan in place. It is welcome to hear that in the debate, even before the Minister speaks. Certainly, as her party colleague said it, I can take it that it is an agreed line from the Minister that that is now in place. Moreover, there needs to be something wider, such as a moratorium on planning, until we get a resolution. Reference has been made to the old houses and old parts of Antrim. They are old, but they were new at one time. They are family homes and mean a lot to the individuals who own them. Every time that there is new development further upstream, there is real concern about the impact that it will have. We need to find a resolution. However, at the same time, we cannot end the development of new homes for young families.

954 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:52 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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