MUSSELBURGH residents are being urged to make their views known on the town’s flood protection scheme before the initial outline design is unveiled at a major public event in June.

The proposed blueprint will form part of a 3D animation to “maximise the potential for delivering a clear vision” of how the scheme’s physical defences – which could be concrete or glass walls, embankments, sand dunes or rock armours – environmental changes and river restoration will look within the town’s existing historic and build landscape.

This will be available at the two-day consultation event on June 20 and 21, when individuals, businesses and other interested parties will have the opportunity to seek clarification on aspects of the initial outline scheme and provide feedback.

Conor Price, project manager, told the Courier that the 3D animation would be “sophisticated”, allowing people to feel like they were “flying through” the scheme.

A fly-through video has been produced, which is viewable here.

The project team will then compile a report to allow work to start on the revision of the outline design based on the feedback collected.

It is expected that recommendations will be brought to the council’s elected members for consideration and approval in January next year.

East Lothian Courier: An image showing Inveresk Weir to the Ivanhoe footbridge from an aerial video which demonstrates the current flow of the Esk through the town of Musselburgh into the sea and a range of natural and man made structures that may help or hinder future flood

Inveresk Weir to the Ivanhoe footbridge

Consultants, appointed by East Lothian Council to draw up the scheme, have been holding meetings with residents and have now started weekly drop-in sessions for the public every Friday at the Brunton Hall from 10am until 1pm until further notice.

Further consultation evenings are also in the pipeline: April 18 – Esksides Area Local Consultation Group; April 19 – Coastal Area Local Consultation Group; and April 20 – Edinburgh Road Local Area Consultation Group.

In January 2020, the council approved the concept known as the ‘preferred scheme’.

A council spokesperson explained: “This recognised that Musselburgh cannot be protected against a major flood event without new physical barriers along the edges of the various watercourses.

“The preferred scheme imagined that these barriers would be a mix of wall or embankments of undecided height.

“On the east of the River Esk they would run from high ground at Inveresk along by the Eskmills Business Park and past Tesco and then out to the coast, where they would connect to the existing ash lagoons seawall.

“On the west side of the town, the new barriers would run from the Brunstane Burn and along the coast to the mouth of the River Esk. They would then be placed alongside the river until they reach high ground by Campie Road.”

East Lothian Courier: An image showing Olivebank Road to the Electric Bridge from an aerial forage video which demonstrates the current flow of the Esk through the town of Musselburgh into the sea and a range of natural and man made structures that may help or hinder future

Olivebank Road to the Electric Bridge

Three bridges – Shorthope Street footbridge, Electric Bridge and Goosegreen footbridge – have been identified to be replaced with new single-span structures which are higher above the water. The Ivanhoe footbridge will also be replaced but both the Roman Bridge and Rennie Bridge will remain.

Mr Price said: “I know that the people of Musselburgh desperately want to understand what the scheme will look like and we are closing in on that moment.

“We are going to present a vision of the Musselburgh Flood Protection Scheme at the public exhibition in June.

“The design is not done. We do not yet know what the form of the defences will be. We are continuing to look for natural solutions in the catchment and within the town. We are continuing to try and deliver on all of the many messages that the town and people of the town have given to us over three or four years of consultation.

“So we’ve heard all those messages and will be failing in our job as designers and project delivery if we come up with a product in June which is completely unacceptable to the people of Musselburgh – but I don’t believe that’s what’s going to happen.

“I think that Musselburgh will be pleasantly surprised with what we present in June and they will see that we have listened to them, and have forged a project that is a balance of natural solutions, catchment management, physical defences in the town and doing so in an environmentally sensitive way and in a way which enhances the landscape of Musselburgh rather than detracts from it.

“I think Musselburgh will benefit from this in many ways, not just the flood protection but through the extra active travel paths we are hoping to weave in through taking public spaces and improving them and refreshing them for the next generation, places that may have become a little tired over decades and are in need of renewal anyway.”

East Lothian Courier: An image showing the Electric Bridge to the mouth of the Esk from an aerial forage video which demonstrates the current flow of the Esk through the town of Musselburgh into the sea and a range of natural and man made structures that may help or hinder

Electric Bridge to the mouth of the Esk

He added: “We are looking at each unique location and trying to develop a design that’s suitable for all of them.”

The flood protection plan, costing £43.5 million – 20 per cent East Lothian Council and 80 per cent Scottish Government Flood Programme – aims to introduce defences against at one-in-200-year risk of flooding in the town.

The threat to Musselburgh has gone from being mainly the River Esk to being more from the coastal boundary because of climate change, it has been stated.

Another two separate projects have been brought together with the flood protection plan – future-proofing the ash lagoons sea wall at a cost of £52.4 million, with talks ongoing between the council and ScottishPower; and parts of the Musselburgh Active Toun project to provide enhanced footpaths, pathways and cycleways with £122,000 from Sustrans. This takes the total investment to £96 million.

Physical boundaries could include: concrete or glass walls, demountable barriers which are not there on a daily basis, a rising barrier which comes out of the ground; embankments such as an earthen bund, sand dunes or rock armour, which is a method carried out at coastal sites which consists of positioning large rocks to form a protective barrier; or hybrids (a mix and match of both walls and embankments) such as low-height earthen embankment with a small wall on top of it, or an embankment with a wall or sand dune, or a blend of these together.

Information has also been provided on the possible height of barriers for four climate change scenarios at sites along the River Esk – 4, high emissions 2100; 3, high emissions 2070; 2, medium emissions 2050; 1, present day, no climate change added.

Eskside West upper showed flood barrier heights of 0.6 metres (1), 0.94m (2), 1.15m (3) and 1.42m (4). Mall Avenue: 0 (1), 0.54m (2), 0.85m (3) and 1.3m (4). Eskside East: 0.68m (1), 1.17m (2), 1.43m (3) and 1.73m (4). Eskside West lower: 0.99m (1), 1.38m (2), 1.63m (3) and 1.91m (4). Goosegreen Crescent: 0.26m (1), 1.38m (2), 1.63m (3) and 1.12m (4). Fisherrow Links: 0.55 (1), 1.00m (2), 0.45m (3) and 1.70m (4). PromenadeL 0 (1), 0.40m (2), 0.7m (3) and 1.0m (4). Murdoch’s Green: 0 (1), 0 (2), 0.4 (3) and 0.7m (4).