Flooding concerns in Athboy estates raised

The plight of residents of the Butterfield View, Cloran Road and Church View area of Athboy whose homes have been flooded in heavy rain was raised at a meeting of Kells Municipal Council on Monday.

Councillor Mike Bray called for work to begin immediately on flood alleviation measures in the area, pointing out that Meath County Council had been allocated funding for it in March 2023 under the Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Scheme.

“A number of families in Butterfield View have been flooded over the past number of years which has damaged their houses and their personal belongings. It has also caused the families impacted untold stress and worry.

"It is terrible to see people in wellies with water inside their homes and all their belonging up on tables," he said.

"There are a number of residents who when they hear the rain are immediately afraid their homes will be flooded. There are three properties in particular that are flooded regularly and the car park at the back is also regularly flooded.

"My concern is that Meath County Council is progressing a new scheme at Connaught Grove so this needs to be addressed to prevent further issues.

"The residents cannot wait forever to have this work carried out," he said.

Cllr Sarah Reilly who seconded Cllr Bray's call said it was extremely distressing when homes are flooded. "The stress of living with the threat of it happening is again is also dreadful," she said

Cllr Bray was told that the work was to have been carried out in conjunction with the bus stop relocation in the area and the money allocated last year was used for other flood works as a result.

As the bus relocation works have delayed, he called for the flood works to be done separately and was told the council had included funding for the scheme in their 2025 application.