Rachael Hamilton MSP and John Lamont MP have called on the Scottish Government to offer support following the damage left behind from Storm Dennis.
Storm Dennis brought high winds and heavy rainfall leading to significant flooding across the Borders. Many towns, such as Hawick and Jedburgh were badly affected.
The worst hit community was Newcastleton, where 70 homes were flooded over the weekend and roads were left impassable. The B6399 has seven major areas that are unsafe and the B6357 will remain closed 'til Saturday due to the damage and destruction left by the storm.
Rachael Hamilton MSP raised the issue with Rural Minister Mairi Gougeon in Holyrood at Tuesday's topical questions, where she called for the Scottish Government to offer additional assistance to Borders’ communities.
Both Rachael Hamilton MSP and John Lamont MP are to visit this week to offer their support to the community. They want the Scottish Government to offer more support to rural villages, which often don’t receive the same funding for flood defences as larger towns, such as Hawick.
Mrs Hamilton and Mr Lamont want to thank the hard work of the resilience team and emergency services during the difficult conditions brought by Storm Dennis.
Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire MSP, Rachael Hamilton said:
“Storm Dennis has caused significant damage to parts of the Borders and I want to thank the resilient residents, emergency services and community groups for their hard work in very difficult circumstances.
“I have asked the Scottish Government to offer additional support to those in Newcastleton following the devastating floods.
“The long clean up begins, and I believe the village should be given the appropriate resources to ensure it fully recovers.
“I will be in Newcastleton on Friday, but in the meantime, my team and I are here to help. If you require assistance following the floods, please do not hesitate to contact my office in Kelso on 01573 224862, or email [email protected]”.
Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk MP, John Lamont said:
“This will be an extremely difficult time for those affected by this flooding. I have been working closely with Barbara, Laura and Greg from the community council. Many other residents have been in touch asking for help.
“I will be heading down to Newcastleton this week to see the extent of the damage for myself.
“The devastation that flooding causes is unimaginable for most people. This is especially the case in Newcastleton when many of the properties are many decades old and some are only one storey, making it hard to get prized possessions to safety away from the water.
“The immediate priority is to get people back into their homes. We then need to ensure that the flood protection scheme is prioritised to ensure that this does not happen again.”
