Three dozen blocked gullies in one Fife town –  councillor calls for action

David MacDiarmid (SNP for Howe of Fife and Tay Coast) questioned how Fife Council plans to prioritise gully clearing and flood prevention work with only three machines and a backlog of work across the Kingdom.

There are more than three dozen blocked gullies in Falkland alone, Cllr MacDiarmid claimed at Thursday’s meeting of the full council. He also revealed that across the Kingdom, Fife Council only has three gully clearing machines to tackle the long list of work.

“If you’re really serious about keeping grates and gullies clear, how are you intending to do this?” Cllr MacDiarmid asked Council leader David Ross (Labour).

“I understand that there are only three machines to do gully work in the whole of Fife, and committing to work in Cupar - rightly so - could further reduce work in our other rural villages prone to flooding.”

He continued: “I personally identified over three dozen blocked gullies in Falkland recently, and that’s only one of the villages in my ward. If I’ve identified three dozen, I want to know how you’re going to do this with the amount of equipment you’ve got. If you don’t clear out the gullies, the problems are always going to be there.”

Cllr Ross didn’t deny that the council only has three gully clearing machines, and he acknowledged that it’s an issue that’s been raised by a “number of members” - including himself. Although the council has a gully cleaning schedule, Cllr Ross said members need “greater assurance” that it’s being adhered to - which he said “we’re managing to do.”

“If there is a need for additional gully clearing equipment and vehicles, then that’s something that needs to be looked at as part of our overall fleet replacement program which we will be looking at again later this year as part of the capital plan review,” Cllr Ross said. “It is something we need to be paying special attention to.”