Public consultation and community opposition in flood risk management: the case of the ‘Save Cork City’ campaign

Jeffers, J.M (2017) Public consultation and community opposition in flood risk management: the case of the ‘Save Cork City’ campaign. In: UK-Ireland Planning Research Conference, 11 - 13 September 2017, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Official URL: https://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/PRC2017/

Abstract

Cork City has a long history of both fluvial and tidal flooding with notable recent floods occurring in 2009, 2012 and 2014. In December 2016 the Office of Public Works announced details of the proposed Lower Lee Flood Relief scheme which was designed to reduce or eliminate flooding for over 2000 commercial and residential properties in the City. The proposals have provoked strong local opposition, particularly from a group naming itself the ‘Save Cork City’ campaign. This paper presents initial results from a study of the views of local business owners, residents and other stakeholders on the proposal flood relief scheme, the public consultation and decision-making process that preceded these proposals, and the emergence of the ‘Save Cork City;’ campaign. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with local stakeholders and content analysis of social media campaigns, this paper explores the variety of factors that have motivated opposition to the flood relief scheme and examines the effectiveness of public consultation during the decision-making process to date. The paper also considers what lessons the Cork case may offer for flood risk management and climate change adaptation planning elsewhere.

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General)
G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions: School of Sciences
Date Deposited: 19 Oct 2017 15:59
Last Modified: 15 Aug 2021 09:47
URI / Page ID: https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/10059
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