Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Archive

A.E.P. is an acronym for Annual Exceedance Probability, therefore the 0.5% AEP Flood Event refers to the probability of a flood of a given magnitude occurring in any one year.

The 0.5% AEP Flood Event is also known as the 1 in 200 Years Flood Event, but this does not mean it is only expected to occur once in 200 years.

The ‘Preferred Scheme’ is a term derived from the Scottish Government’s Guidance to Local Authorities relating to their functions under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009. This Act and its Regulations from 2010 and 2017 constitute the legislation under which flood protection schemes are delivered in Scotland.

The ‘Preferred Scheme’ is a defined step in journey of advancing a scheme, and expresses the preferred combination of options to reduce flood risk, as understood at that point in time, that have been identified following an Option Appraisal Process. This approach ensures that the project team are able to focus work, and thus money and valuable resources, on the preferred options rather that advancing many options simultaneously that would undertake the same objective. 

The ‘Preferred Scheme’ is not the legally approved Scheme: it is only a concept at a point in time. It is not approved under the legislation, and it is clearly understood by the project team that no part of it is definitively fixed and / or cannot evolve or indeed be replaced entirely with another option during the design. This Scheme is being advanced by an iterative engineering design process and this approach to evolving, and potentially swapping, options is normal for such an approach.

The ‘Preferred Scheme’ for Musselburgh was approved by East Lothian Council’s Cabinet in January 2020.

The ‘Preferred Scheme’ is really a concept determined at the end of Project Stage 3 (the Option Appraisal Process) and which serves as a starting point for the Outline Design (Project Stage 4). During the Outline Design stage the project team, through consultation with the public, businesses, and statutory stakeholders, will evolve the ‘Preferred Scheme’ into an Outline Design. It is during this process of design and consultation that considerations such as location, type of defence, and heights will be discussed and decided. Further it is during the Outline Design that the options are considered against technical, hydraulic model, environmental, financial considerations etc.

Flood protection schemes in Scotland are taken forward under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009.  The Scottish Government currently has a flood protection scheme programme, and the c.40 schemes that were selected for this Cycle 1 Programme were provided with a funding commitment from the Scottish Government at a rate of 80% of the Capital Cost.  The remaining 20% is then paid by the relevant Local Authority, which in this case, is East Lothian Council.

The ‘Preferred Scheme’ for the Musselburgh Flood Protection Scheme was estimated at £42.1 Million in January 2020 when it was approved by Cabinet.  The Council’s 20% is within the Council’s Capital Plan.

The project team is also working with other project teams throughout the Council to maximise efficiencies and expand the potential to be capable of potentially leveraging additional funding streams if the ongoing public consultation is successful in identifying viable opportunities to achieve multiple-benefits in the town.

The project team have undertaken a number of major public consultation events to date; including:

• a two-day Public Open Day and ‘Call for Information’ in February 2019 at The Brunton Theatre; and
• a two-day formal Public Exhibition No. 1 in July 2019 at The Brunton Theatre;

The project team will host another major Public Exhibition at a point later in the Outline Design when an actual design has been developed so that this can be considered and consulted on by anyone that wishes to participate. It is assumed that this two-day event will take place at The Brunton. As of February 2022, a date for this event is not programmed as the project is currently ‘off-programme’ due to the ongoing consultation phase. It is hoped the Project Board will approve a new programme in April 2022 and then it will be possible to confirm a date for this event.

The Musselburgh Flood Protection Scheme welcomes the public to engage with the design of the Scheme.

The project team set-up the Local Area Consultation Groups in September 2021 so that a forum was developed for engaging with local communities on the development of the Outline Design. This process is now set-up after initial meetings in autumn 2021 saw the project team collecting ideas / opportunities / risks etc. from the respective groups. To date this process has involved:

• Door-to-Door visits to personally invite properties to the Local Area Consultation meetings and often involving an associated doorway discussion about the project. Over 1000 individual homes and businesses were visited in autumn 2020, with discussions happening at over 300 properties; and
• A first meeting with seven Local Area Consultation Groups – these groups being targeted towards properties in the closest proximity to any potential defences;

The project team are now hosting a second round of meetings with these groups in February and March 2022. It is assumed this process will continue through the design evolution of the Scheme.

We hope that as the Scheme develops and more people in the town take an interest and our already strong turnout at these events will continue to increase.

The town is Musselburgh sits at the mouth of the River Esk.  The full river catchment above the town is approximately 320 square km’s. The river system consists of two major, and relatively equal-sized sub-catchments – the North Esk and South Esk.  Every drop of water that falls in this catchment could theoretically enter the Esk system and ultimately flow through Musselburgh in the river.

The Scheme is looking to provide protection against a major flood event. The scale of water that will flow down the River Esk during this event is almost unimaginable to anyone that has not experienced such an event. The normal river channel is not capable of conveying this flow and thus the river wants to naturally flow / flood out into its flood plain. Human development has resulted in the river being constrained and its flood plain being taken away from it.

In order that no new flood defences are required in Musselburgh it is required to capture and store all of the water above a bank-full level somewhere above the town – to stop the water flowing through the town. During the Option Appraisal Process, it was determined that this was not possible.  The town must therefore have new physical defences along the length of the River Esk to stop the flood waters inundating large areas of the town during events up-to and including the design event. The real questions therefore are: what form will the new physical defences take; how high will they be; and what will they look like? The Outline Design will develop an answer to these questions – however we wish to clearly state that as of February 2022 no decisions have been taken on the form of defence and the project team are continuing to consult before commencing the actual design.

No.

The Outline Design has not started and a decision has not yet been taken on the form of physical structure to be designed. The project team are currently consulting on the thoughts of key stakeholders, organisations and the people of Musselburgh before design begins on a form.

It is assumed that a one-sized fits all approach will not be taken. It is intended that the form of defence for each reach of the river will be the one that is best suited to that location. It is clearly understood that local needs of the field known as ‘The Valley’ at the upstream end of the Eskmills Business Area by the Inveresk Weir are not the same as the needs of the reach between the Rennie Bridge and the Electric Bridge.

We don’t know yet and are working with the Dynamic Coast project to investigate the potential of sand dunes as an effective form of flood protection for Musselburgh.

Sand dunes are naturally evolving formations. Their effectiveness in reducing flood risk is dependent on a number of factors including: the topography of the coastline; the supply of sediment; the prevailing weather conditions; and their position relative to sea level.

Yes.

The project team submitted a scoping assessment to East Lothian Council Planning Service in accordance with the Flood Risk Management (Flood Protection Schemes, Potentially Vulnerable Areas and Local Plan Districts) (Scotland) Regulations 2010 and Amendment Regulations 2017. This assessment determined that an EIA is required.

The EIA assesses the impact of the Scheme’s design on the environment. It will therefore be carried out once the Outline Design is completed and will be published together with the Scheme documents during the Statutory Approvals Process in Stage 5 of the project.

Delivering the Scheme is dependent upon finding an acceptable balance between its social benefit and its impact on the natural and built environment. To do achieve this balance the project team is working closely with statutory stakeholders including SEPA, Marine Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland and NatureScot.

The Scheme’s designer, Jacobs, is responsible for preparing an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Scheme and to inform this they have conducted extensive ecological surveys of trees, birds, fish and mammals throughout the town, coast, and countryside. The project will comply fully with all legislative and regulatory licensing requirements that are set out to protect the natural environment.

‘Nature-based solutions’ covers a diverse array of concepts and can include: the re-creation or enhancement of habitats; the use of organic materials in structures; and ecological enhancement of existing hard infrastructure. These concepts can be used to provide flood risk management, water quality improvement, storm water management and carbon sequestration.

The scale of flood risk to Musselburgh from the 0.5% AEP coastal and fluvial flood events is so large that natural solutions on their own would not be an effective alternative to physical barriers along the river and the coast. However, the project is considering how nature-based solutions might be used in combination with engineered measures to provide an effective and sustainable flood protection scheme.

The ‘Preferred Scheme’, as approved in January 2020, already includes allowing Fisherrow and Levenhall Sands to continue developing naturally, thus working with nature to provide enhanced wave energy dissipation. It also includes the modification of two existing reservoirs as a form of sustainable flood management. Finally, it includes a debris trap at the Cowpits, near Whitecraigs, as another form of sustainable flood management.

As the Outline Design evolves, the project team will consider further sustainable and nature-based solutions where they are appropriate and effective.

Dredging the river was considered among many other options in Stage 3 (Options Appraisal). Whilst dredging is considered by some to be a viable option in certain circumstances, analysis of the River Esk indicates that, for a number of reasons, this would be ineffective and unsustainable in reducing flood risk to Musselburgh.

Removal of 1m of riverbed material does not necessarily equate to 1m reduction in the height of defences required, because the width between those defences would be far greater than the width of the riverbed itself. The town’s flood risk also comes from multiple sources, not just the river.  Furthermore, dredging can also have significant negative effects on a river’s habitat for fish, birds, other aquatic life and plants.

Finally, dredging is only ever a temporary solution, because the sediment removed is soon replaced through natural processes. These processes cause material to be taken from the riverbed and riverbanks upstream and can have the unintended consequence of destabilising the river channel far from where the dredging is carried out.

No.

Under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009, Flood Protection Schemes, once formally approved, are considered to have Deemed Planning Permission and do not need to apply for planning permission from the local authority.

Nevertheless, we are working closely with East Lothian Council’s planning team and statutory stakeholders to ensure that the Musselburgh Flood Protection Scheme is in keeping with the aims and aspirations of national and local planning policies.

The project team is not allowed to provide information on flood risk relating to individual properties.

Neither East Lothian Council nor Jacobs take responsibility for any interpretation of our flood maps by any individual to assess a property’s risk.

SEPA have a number of public tools to assess the likelihood of flood risk by postcode. These can be found here.

In Scotland a property owner is responsible for their own flood risk.

The Scheme is a major and complex civil engineering project, and it is reasonably expected that the project will run over a ten year lifetime. 

The project commenced during the summer of 2016. The early stages involved the establishment of the project, the putting in place of its governance structures, and the setting -up of the project team.

By January 2020 the project had identified a ‘Preferred Scheme’ and this was approved by the Council’s Cabinet. At that point the intention was to immediately commence the Outline Design, however in March 2020 the commencement of the COVID-19 Pandemic changed everything. The Council wished to advance the development of the design through a process of consultation, and this was not possible due the impact of COVID-19 and lockdown. The project did not start in the Outline Design in spring 2020.

The Project Board considered that it was reasonable to start the Outline Design by summer 2021, however it instructed the project team to undertake a consultative process in advance of the actual design to identify the ideas / opportunities / risks / local specifics etc. from community groups. This process commenced in autumn 2021 and remains ongoing in February 2022. This process has been allowed to extended due to the scale of input received from the town, therefore the project is currently off-programme – i.e. is not working to a defined programme. Instead, the project is working to an approach approved by Project Board that will hopefully allow it to bring the current consultation phase to completion by April 2022. Thereafter it is intended to get Project Board to approve a new programme with clearly defined future target dates ASAP – this programme will be confirmed to you as soon as it is available.

It is noted that it is reasonable to assume that the Outline Design will take until summer 2023 to complete, as a minimum. At that point the Outline Design will be presented to a meeting of full East Lothian Council for review and to seek permission to advance to the Statutory Approvals Processes.