THE severe weather and flooding of the banks of the River Clyde in Glasgow in recent weeks have made all too clear the risks we now face of flooding from tidal rivers.
With climate change and rising sea levels this is only going to become more problematic and less predictable in the coming years and decades.
The Greater Glasgow area, with the confluence of the River Clyde and the River Kelvin, as well as the Cart further downstream, can be particularly prone to simultaneous flooding from high tides, river flows and surface drainage.
Planners, developers and society at large need to seriously consider what is appropriate for how we develop the waterfront environment.
In particular, housing development on the river edge needs to be reconsidered, especially when we also consider the cost of quay wall maintenance, and who is expected to bear that burden.
There is also the risk of waste water overflowing into the river from the sewer systems. Waterfront properties could become increasingly more expensive to insure.
Other cities and regions, such as Boston Harbor in the USA (the “Resilient Boston Harbor” flood protection), are moving towards design and landscaping of their waterfronts with flooding in mind. So the waterfront is designed to allow for flooding rather than attempting to prevent it.
Housing and car parking needs to be shifted away from the river edge in favour of more open public spaces that are not permanently occupied and more easily evacuated if and when need be.
We have to ask if further expansion of housing development at Glasgow Harbour and elsewhere on the waterfront is appropriate or whether it is ill advised when faced with increasing flood risk. Instead, should we not be looking at sites further away from the river for residential setting?
Unlike, for example, London or New York, Glasgow is not a city with a shortage of land for development.
Iain McGillivray,
Executive Director,
Clyde Docks Preservation Initiative,
Glasgow.
Continuing relevance of the Boys’ Brigade
KEVIN McKenna’s obituary of that fine Christian activist Robert Macgregor Park Brown (The Herald, February 20) greatly uplifted me when I read that any good in him had been fostered by his membership of the 5th Hamilton company of the Life Boys and The Boys’ Brigade.
I am happy to state as a lifetime and ongoing member that the movement still caters for boys at a time when their support, supplied by thousands of dedicated lady and gentlemen officers, is needed as never before.
Our UK and Republic of Ireland strength is not as it was but our overseas numbers are flourishing and the quality of leadership gives hope for the future. The B.B. was founded in 1883 by William Alexander Smith in Glasgow, a fact that brings pride to many, many former members hailing from this city.
W. Raymond Shaw,
Glasgow.
Scrum of voices
WHY, oh why must the rugby commentators and pundits insist on talking over the referee and TMO when they are describing their decisions or addressing the players? Do they think they know better?
Ken Horne, Morlich, Montrave.
Hope springs eternal
DEFINITION of optimism: supporting the Italian rugby team.
D.Weir, Glasgow.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel