Cupar floods: residents fear they have been forgotten as clean-up continues

While the waters have receded, they have left behind anger, uncertainty and anxiety about the future. Driving down Kinloss Park last Friday revealed gardens full of ruined carpeting, sofa cushions, unemptied bins full of ruined things, and mud stained pavements. The water in Ladyburn flowed fast and murky, but it had already returned to its banks.

Cupar resident Carol Watters and her family were among those near Ladyburn who were flooded out of their homes. She spoke of her anger, uncertainty and anxiety in the weeks since Storm Gerrit hit her home.

“It’s almost like the floods have been forgotten about,” Mrs Watters said. “Initially everyone was all over it, but now I feel like it's a distant memory. For us, it's still at the very forefront and raw. It was a very big thing at the time, but two weeks down the line, I feel like we've been forgotten about.”

She and her husband, Ritchie, both 51, bought their Kinloss Park property 24 years ago and have since raised three children there. Ladyburn flows behind the property, and has flooded the garden several times. However, Mrs Watters said its the first time it has ever breached the house.

Mrs Watters claims that the devastation could have been mitigated, and accused Fife Council of failing to maintain the burn for the last two or three years, which has caused the flooding to become more severe.

“The council used to really maintain the burn. It used to be dredged and it used to really look after it,” Mrs Watters said. “The drains used to be attended to to make sure they were flowing freely, but for the past few years - probably since Covid - they stopped tending to the burn and things like that. That all has had a massive impact.”

Councillor Margaret Kennedy (Lib-Dem for Cupar) acknowledged those feelings of anger in the community.

“Many residents have been badly affected by the events in December and there remains, what I would suggest, is anger and disappointment. There is a feeling that some measures could have been done [to prevent this],” she said.“The re is that huge feeling of being let down amongst many residents.”

Internally she said there “continues to be a significant line of discussion” about how to prevent similar flooding events in the short, medium and long term.

“As always the case in these kinds of discussions, it does take such a long time to gain clarity and of course from our residents’ perspective and indeed as local councillors there is a strong sense of urgency to come forward with clarity soon in order to feel there is an element of reassurance for what’s ahead in the future.”

Regardless, Mrs Watters and the other flood victims are left to pick up the pieces of their lives.

“It’s very stressful. My husband and I have both had to take time off work because of the whole situation. There’s a lot of uncertainty about what’s happening with us as a family,” she said. “Our concern now, because we’re a bought house, is that the value of our property has probably decreased. Insurance is going to fix it and put things back to how it was, but our concern is if there’s not enough done quick enough to prevent this happening again. Where do we go as homeowners from there?”

She continued: “We bought our home 24 years ago as a nest egg for our three boys but we’re not very sure what great value it’ll be now.”

In terms of ongoing help for flood victims, Cllr Kennedy believes that the council “continues to offer a significant amount of support.”

“The housing team and the wider safer communities team have done a huge amount of work to contact tenants and residents directly on their doorstep,” Cllr Kennedy said.

There are also a number of community groups that she says have helped to support those affected. Community in Cupar, local charity, stepped into provide a warm place for flood victims to go immediately after the waters rose and they’ve since provided help for people applying for crisis grants.

Cllr Kennedy also highlighted Castle Furniture, another local charity, that has been gathering items of furniture for the affected families. There are also crowd funding schemes ongoing.