Spring clean for Tweed Island

David O'Leary • Published 18 Feb 2010 16:50 2 Comments

Nurture has won out against nature in the battle over Tweed Island.

Last week SBC's Civil Engineering Design Manager, Paul Frankland, gave a presentation to Peebles Community Council, at which he stated that the island doesn't contribute to bank erosion or flooding downstream.

In his report, he also stated that subject to obtaining approval from Scottish Natural Heritage, thinning work is to be carried out before the bird nesting season commences in spring.

And so this week SBC workmen finally got to work chopping down trees and removing flood debris.

Tweed Island has been a bone of contention in the town for many years now, as many townsfolk pushed for it to be trimmed and maintained or even fully removed, while others wished for nature to be left to take its own course.

As a result last September SBC's river engineering department began to compile a report in which they asked JBA Consulting to assess the effect of the island on the flow of the river.

Hydraulic modelling was then carried out by JBA to test the effects of firstly doing nothing, secondly removing the island, and thirdly clearing all vegetation.

They found that in the event of a 1 in 25 year flood event, like that which occurred in November 2009, the impact on water levels immediately upstream of the island was calculated to be a 30mm reduction if the island were removed and a 20mm reduction if all vegetation on the island were removed.

Fears had also been expressed among locals that the island was pushing the flow of floodwaters towards each bank, resulting in the southern side becoming undermined.

However, Paul Frankland considered in his report that this localised erosion is caused by turbulence as a result of its position downstream of an outfall pipe.

Peebles Community Council chairman, Ian Wilson, welcomed work finally beginning on the island.

He said: "It's good to see something being done to tidy it up because it didn't look for the town as it was growing out of control.

"We'll just have to take their word for it that it doesn't pose a flooding risk. Only time will tell I suppose."

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This article appeared in Peeblesshire News 19 Jul 10

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• 

  j. p. ward
  Unregistered User
  Feb 19, 21:42
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  Tweed Island a flooding risk? If that is the wee island just upstream of Tweed Bridge then it has been there for about 60 years. It formed during one massive flood in, I think, 1948 or thereabouts. The flood did a lot of damage. The rowing boats on the Minnie which had given such pleasure in summers past were washed away and smashed against the piers of Tweed and Priorsford bridges. The cauld taking water into Thorburn's mill was breached. The island however had appeared, and I think it was appreciated by the neighbourhood birds. A lot of money was spent removing the island back then. A bulldozer shovelled gravel from the river bed for weeks on end. I think the very next winter the island reappeared. The town council decided to take no further action. A wise decision.
  
  J. P. Ward.
  
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• 

  Elizabeth Neilson
  Unregistered User
  Feb 22, 05:49
  Report comment

  The relatively flat island of river stones and gravel which lay just upstream from Tweed Bridge, has become an unsightly mass of small trees and undergrowth which detracts from the glorious vista previously seen from Tweed's banks.On each visit back to Peebles from Australia I notice an increase in growth, and agree that clearing the island's vegetation would be a step in the right direction. As a Gutterbluid I offer this opinion.
  
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