Perth Leisure Pool housing plan sparks flood risk fears

Council chiefs have been urged to think carefully about the risk of flooding if they press ahead with a plan to build new homes on the site of Perth Leisure Pool.

The warning has come from Janice Haig, founder of Perth Community Flood Aid.

It follows Perth and Kinross Council’s surprise decision to build the long-delayed PH2O leisure venue on the site of the Thimblerow car park in the city centre.

The intention is to demolish Perth Leisure Pool after the new centre opens.

And up to 150 new houses could be built in its place.

Janice says the history of the Perth Leisure Pool site should give council bosses cause for concern.

The venue was was forced to close for 14 months after a thunderstorm in August 2020 left its pump room under 16ft of water.

And Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) maps put parts of the site at medium to high risk of flooding from surface water.

“Flooding has to be taken into consideration before they think about building any houses there,” said Janice.

“That whole area has flooded before.

“And there are well known issues with drainage and surface water flooding around Glasgow Road and Feus Road.”

Maps show flood risk around Perth Leisure Pool site

Sepa maps for the area show much of the Perth Leisure Pool site, and the car park it shares with the Dewars Centre, are at risk of flooding.

Parts are at high risk. That means there’s a 10% chance of surface water flooding every year.

Other parts are graded medium to low risk, meaning a 0.5% to 0.1% chance.

There has been a huge public backlash to the council plan to replace Perth Leisure Pool with PH2O at Thimblerow.

It was narrowly voted through by 20 votes to 18 on September 4.

However, the watered-down complex does not feature a dedicated leisure pool or ice rink provision.

Former Perth Leisure Pool employee Bobby Brian has launched a petition to overturn the decision.

It has amassed more than 1,800 signatures.

It has also emerged that Perth Leisure Pool could be re-considered for listed building status following the Thimblerow vote.

Council responds to flooding concerns

A Perth and Kinross Council spokesperson said: “We are very aware of the history of surface water flood events in this area and this would be given detailed consideration as part of any future plans and decision-making regarding the redevelopment of the Perth Leisure Pool site.

“This would also involve consultation with Scottish Water to ensure proposals tie in appropriately with their infrastructure.

“We are also aware that Scottish Water are currently undertaking works in the wider local area to mitigate risks of surface water flooding.”

The spokesperson said Sepa maps are used to give “high level strategic indications of potential risk”, showing where more work is needed to understand flood threats and whether steps can be taken to overcome them.

And they pointed out that a Flood Risk assessment is generally required as part of any planning application.

“It should also be appreciated that extreme weather events can happen and that drainage systems, even when designed to current standards, have a finite capacity and can be overwhelmed,” they added.

“However this should be considered in development design, to minimise the impacts of extreme events.”