FURTHER flooding saw water from the River Tweed covering the Innerleithen to Walkerburn multi-use path on Sunday.

The weekend flood has further eaten into an area of the bank which was cutaway at the end of December.

Among many comments on Facebook group ‘Innerleithen Online’, one stated: “Once again if you don’t dredge and remove the flood silt deposits the river will decide its own path.

“The mills and towns were built here because of how we managed the water so now when will we realise that we still have to manage the water?”

Gavin Third, from Melrose, added: “The erosion looks like it’s going to reach the path very soon if something isn’t done, unfortunately.”

This just under two-mile long section of the multi-use path, which was opened in 2019, cost £500,000 to construct and was funded by Transport Scotland, Scottish Borders Council and the Sustrans Scotland’s Places for Everyone programme.

Tweeddale East councillor Marshall Douglas said: “The erosion of the bank and loss of about 100 metres of ground is of grave concern to the communities of Innerleithen and Walkerburn, as it potentially undermines the security of the multi-use path which currently provides a high value resource to the area.

“The damage and recent additional flooding has been reported to officials who are looking at potential solutions to safeguard the path.”

A spokesperson from Scottish Borders Council said: “SBC is aware of this issue and commissioned a specialist consultant in early November 2022 to investigate and develop options for green bank protection measures at this location.

“This work is on-going and will take into consideration the most recent erosion.”

Another online commenter said: “The bank at that section lost over a metre just this week...and it was already really close to the path.

“It may not even survive this winter.

“I saw in the Peeblesshire News that concerns were raised at the recent community council meeting – but there’s unlikely to be a quick fix.

“The previous repairs at that spot didn’t last long (though the boulders just further down have been successful). The path is a great asset and it would be awful if it gets washed away...and even more costly to repair than just the banking.”

A further post read: “The amount of erosion is really scary.

“Rode through it today. The bank needs gabions or similar urgently or it won’t survive.”