Residents are being urged to attend a public information event outlining major proposals for the long-awaited Portadown Flood Alleviation Scheme — a £60 million project aimed at preventing a repeat of the devastating floods that hit the town in 2023.
The event will take place on Thursday, October 16 at Portadown Town Hall, running from 4pm to 7.30pm.
Significant flood events have been recorded during 1986, 1987, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015/16 and 2023.
The frequency and extent of the flooding is predicted to increase with the effects of climate change.
In October 2011 out-of-bank flooding occurred in the Portadown area resulting in the flooding of properties and infrastructure.
Further floods in 2014 and 2015 caused damage to residential properties and businesses across the wider Portadown area.
Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins said the scheme was a vital step in protecting homes, businesses and infrastructure from flooding along the River Bann and its tributaries, which have repeatedly burst their banks in recent decades.
“Portadown has flooded regularly over the last 30 to 40 years, most recently during the autumn flooding of 2023,” she said.
“The proposals to reduce the risk of flooding include construction of approximately eight kilometres of flood defences across 21 sites in the Portadown area at a construction cost estimate of £60 million.
“I encourage people in the area to go along and hear about the scheme proposals, see the drawings and visualisations of the proposed flood defences and meet the project team who are aiming to deliver this vitally important scheme for the Portadown area.”
The Detailed Design Phase of the project has now been completed, with procurement currently under way. Construction is expected to begin in autumn 2026, taking place in three phases of roughly two years each, with an overall project duration of around six years.
The scheme comes less than two years after severe flooding in Portadown in November 2023 left vast sections of the town underwater, with the River Bann bursting its banks following days of torrential rain. Homes, businesses and roads were badly affected, with aerial photographs at the time showing the sheer scale of the damage.
Residents and business owners are now being encouraged to attend the upcoming information session to learn more about the proposed works and how they will impact the local area.
Further information about the Portadown Flood Alleviation Scheme is available on the Department for Infrastructure website: www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/articles/portadown-flood-alleviation-scheme
