A growing number of Newcastle residents, anxious about the threat of future flooding, have come together and want to see as much as possible being done to protect their homes from damage
A NUMBER of anxious and frustrated Newcastle residents have come together to create a group which they hope will put in place protections against any future flood damage to their homes.
Their group, called Newcastle Regional Community Resilience Group (RCRG), is made up of residents affected by floods in the area as far back as 2008.
The group currently has 20 members and is led by a three-person sub-committee of Sheila Maginn, Sam Anderson and Gareth Jones.
Their most recent action was to present a response to the Department of Infrastructure’s South East Flooding report, which was published in July.
That report detailed instances of flooding in Newcastle, Downpatrick and Newry in the autumn of 2023.
It outlined where the flooding happened, explained why it happened and made some suggestions as to how to mitigate against it happening again.
The Newcastle RCRG compiled a seven-page response and sent it to the Minister for Infrastructure John O’Dowd MLA, NI Water, Newry Mourne and Down District Council as well as local councillors, MLAs and the area’s MP, Chris Hazzard.
The report scrutinises the points made in the flooding report, including questions about why Eliza Close’s flooding was not mentioned, a query about pumping stations, and locations of surface water discharge points.
The report also highlighted the residents’ long-standing concerns about possible future flooding, their questions about who will lead and deliver measures to address future flooding and a question of why more homes are being built in the area if surface water and sewage were named as reasons for the flooding.
The Newcastle RCRG’s response included a proposal to set up a pre-warning system, regular cleaning of drains and gullies, and monitoring of pumping stations.
With that response in mind, the group met with the Mourne Observer to explain why they were set up and what their hopes are for the future.
Sheila Maginn, who is part of the Newcastle RCRG’s three-person sub-committee, has been working towards addressing the flooding issues ever since her house on Bryansford Avenue was seriously damaged by flooding in 2008 and in 2020.
Sheila explained: “I had been sending letters for years. I had tried to get people involved. A lot of them wanted to but didn’t have the time.
“It was suggested to me that I should set up an RCRG. I asked people to get involved and sent out messages. I connected with our local politicians.”
She started a group in the aftermath of the 2020 flooding on the suggestion of members of the Department for Infrastructure and the Rivers Agency.
The DfI encourages communities to set up Regional Community Resilience Groups (RCRG) in order to respond to weather-related emergencies.
So, this is why the Newcastle RCRG was set up.
“The DfI help set up these groups so they can help themselves build up our own resilience,” Sheila said.
Numbers joining the group grew following last year’s flooding on Marguerite Avenue and Larchfield Avenue in Newcastle.
The construction of the Shimna flood alleviation scheme – completed in 2022 by the DfI – was thought to have sorted the issues out, but then last autumn the town was hit by a large flood. It was then that many more people joined Sheila.
They included the two men who join her on the sub-committee, Sam Anderson and Gareth Jones.
Now the Newcastle RCRG meets regularly to coordinate themselves as they try to end the damage that flooding in the area causes.
Sam Anderson’s home was flooded in 2019, which led him to getting involved in the RCRG group.
He said: “There was a feeling that the (flood alleviation) work would sort out the flooding.
“Then we were flooded again in 2023.
“I asked what was out there in the community. That was when I was put into contact with Sheila. We started to talk about what the group could do.”
Sam said that the flooding has brought a group of frustrated and anxious people together who are desperate to end the fear of their houses being damaged by flooding.
“I have seen people who came to the group who are really anxious, who have been affected by what happened.
“Some of the people were out of their houses for six months.”
The group is a chance for local people to band together and create strength in numbers so they can be heard.
Sam said: “A lot of people have been engaging with their local politicians.
“The purpose of this group has been to bring everyone together.”
And so, following the flooding and the ensuing study by the Department for Infrastructure the group are working towards dealing with the flooding for the short, medium and long term.
The group said that they were stunned at the time of the flooding last year when support came from all over the community. People turned up with sandbags and men turned up with tractors and water pumps to clear the area.
The group were delighted with this, but in the future they would like things to be organised.
Sam Anderson explained: “It is bedlam when there is flooding.
“The number one thing for us is someone to help us procedurally to bring in a more practical plan to deal with the flooding.
“We want a designated person that we could call. Someone who is going to be able to organise us.”
For the medium to long term, the group want to know how the government bodies can address the issue of flooding in the area, and attempt to either stop it entirely or create a situation where their homes won’t be under threat.
Sheila said: “We just want some more guidance.
“We need more support and practical help.
“We have asked for them to get together and tell us what to do.”
Gareth Jones added that local political representatives have provided help and he believes a lot more can be done.
Gareth said: “But we should acknowledge the help from the local politicians.
“The council has provided some support.
“I have been at the groups they have organised, and they do help but it is not exactly what we need.”
But like Sam and Sheila, Gareth said that the local residents need more guidance about how to manage future floods, and what can be done to prevent it happening completely.
“We are asking as a group of how we will be informed.
“We have asked if we could have a meeting to answer some questions.
“We are looking for more support.”
Currently the group is waiting for a response from their observations on the DfI’s report.
They are also appealing for volunteers or organisations who would like to be added to a list of people to contact for help in the instances of future floodings.
Those people who could provide help with sandbag deployment, or for providing flood warnings.
If you would like to get in touch with the group, their email address is newcastlercrg@gmail.com.