By Ryan Sands
A MOURNES councillor has criticised the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) for the “destruction” caused by tree felling at Kilkeel’s Whitewater River.
Jill Truesdale (Alliance) was speaking after Kilkeel Angling Club contacted her about the recent removal of trees from the designated ASSI (area of special scientific interest).
In response, DfI said that the work was required to help it “better understand both the lood risk associated with the Whitewater River and its tributaries, and the level of protection provided by the existing flood defence”.
Cllr Truesdale stated that local anglers have been “very badly treated by so many various departments and others, who may not have any responsibility for their rivers, but who aren’t engaging with them either as ratepayers or valuable contributors to the economy”.
“When photographs first came through, it was hard to believe such destruction was still happening, after all we now know about climate crisis and the importance of trees,” she continued.
“The three main reasons for cutting all these trees appears to be T98 flood defence inspection requirements, classed as ‘routine bank maintenance’; post-breach survey access, as in the ability for someone to look at the bank; and long-term embankment integrity.
“This, to me, sounds like chopping down trees to look at a bank, in case the trees blow over, yet every single councillor has more than likely received a response over a pram or a traffic barrier in a river ‘not impeding flow’.
“This ‘just in case’, risk-averse method of work has to have a rethink.” The local representative highlighted that “the statutory backbone for DfI Rivers doing this kind of maintenance work is the Drainage (Northern Ireland) Order 1973”.
“This provides the legislative basis for carrying out watercourse maintenance work and flood defence schemes,” she added.
