Burnfoot flood relief scheme moves to planning stage as application is lodged with An Coimisiún Pleanála
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The long-awaited flood relief scheme for Burnfoot has taken a meaningful step forward with Donegal County Council formally submitting a planning application to An Coimisiún Pleanála for extensive works along the Burnfoot River and surrounding townlands.
The application, details of which were published in the local press this week, outlines a multi-layered engineering project designed to protect the village and nearby communities from the type of severe flooding that has affected the area in recent years.
This new flood relief scheme, which will protect 49 properties in the village, has been in gestation since the Office of Public Works listed it as a priority project as far back as 2018. Long sought by residents who had endured low-level flooding for many years, the severe damage caused to properties in Burnfoot on the night of the big flood in August 2017 had made the case inarguable.
Key elements of the scheme, which has an estimated cost of €13.6 million, include more than 1km of new hard defences, comprising reinforced concrete walls, piled walls and earthen embankments averaging 1.1 metres in height. Additional earthen embankments are proposed around homes near the Slab Road and around the wastewater treatment plant at Grianan Park, providing targeted protection for vulnerable properties.
One of the most significant components is the replacement of the bridge on the R238 (on the main Buncrana-Bridgend Road) with a new single-span structure, along with a redesigned road layout. The single-span bridge will give more headroom for floodwaters to release into the floodplain in the fields leading towards Inch Lake.
The Carnashannagh Stream would also undergo major upgrades, including new reinforced walls and the installation of enlarged box culverts to accommodate future climate-driven flood flows.
The scheme also proposes reconnecting parts of the natural floodplain downstream by removing sections of existing embankments along both the Burnfoot and Skeoge rivers. This would allow controlled short-term water storage during heavy rainfall events, reducing peak flood levels in the village.
Surface-water improvements are planned at Fairview Manor and Brae Road, including road re-profiling, new gullies and a swale to divert run-off safely to nearby watercourses.
Additional land will be acquired to facilitate long-term maintenance of the new defences, and a related compulsory purchase order will be submitted separately to the Commission.
The full application, including the Environmental Impact Assessment report and the Natura Impact Statement, is available for public inspection at council offices in Lifford and Carndonagh, at An Coimisiún Pleanála’s Dublin headquarters, and online at countydonegalfrs.ie/burnfootfrs.
The public has until 24 July to make submissions, which must be accompanied by a €50 fee.
The Commission may approve the project with or without conditions, or refuse it entirely.
Subject to planning consent being obtained in a timely manner, RPS, the consulting engineering firm working on the project on behalf of Donegal County Council, has estimated that construction of the flood defences could commence in late 2027 and be completed by early 2029.