Rain Gardens on Aikenhead Road

MoFloCoCo recently became of GCC’s application for planning permission to build ‘rain gardens’ and a storm water storage basin on Aikenhead Road. The period for public responses has closed. We believe a great many people are still unaware of the plans so we want to share the information we have gathered. There is still time to provide input on details such as whether the rain gardens should be planted with trees or shrubs.

Below you’ll find details for Mount Florida and Kings Park. Other areas south of the Mount Florida – Kings Park railway are also impacted and we’ve attached the full pack of drawings for reference here.

What is it for?

The plans are intended to protect homes and businesses from flooding in the case of extreme rainfall that may be experienced once in 200 years, in line with Scottish Government requirements. The measures will slow the flow of surface rainwater and prevent it overloading drains and sewers.

A few houses and business at the lower end of Aikenhead Road flood occasionally but the plans also protect properties further downstream. Surface water from Aikenhead Road currently drains into the Malls Mire which goes under Asda car park and then under the motorway to Shawfield. That system currently can’t handle heavy rainfall.

The recent Scottish Water works on Prospecthill Road, Aikenhead Road and in Queens Park are all aimed at improving foul water (sewage) drainage. The new works should keep more surface water out of the foul water system, reducing the chance of overflows to rivers.

So whats planned?

There are wider plans for the southside, but in our area the plans comprise (i) rain gardens on Aikenhead Road, and (ii) a storm water basin at the traffic island beside Asda.

“Rain Gardens?”

Yes – gardens about 8 to 10 metres long at the roadside that will catch rain and allow it to slowly soak into the ground. They will have either shrubs or trees in them. Here is a an example from another city. We’ve detailed the proposed locations below.

 

The rain gardens will be in the nearside lanes which are mostly used for parking at present. They will be paired – one on each side – as this is supposed to make it easier for drivers to navigate than an asymmetrical arrangement. Some parking spaces will be lost. Existing driveways are protected but some households will not be able to build new driveways.

Residents have raised the concern that the rain gardens may become litter trips or will require maintenance to prevent them becoming over-grown and messy. We are raising this question with GCC.

 

What about the storm water basin?

It will be located in the traffic island between Asda car park and the police station. The road will be closed to install a new drain from Aikenhead Road feeding into the basin. Water will flow out into Malls Mire.

Consultation

The planning application caught us by surprise. Although GCC and its agent say they carried out an ‘extensive’ public consultation campaign it completely passed us by. We did receive an email from the agent in November but its significance was not clear to us. AECOM, the agents for GCC, told us that 39 people attended 4 public events held across Croftfoot, Kings Park and Toryglen in the autumn.  They also said they leafletted extensively and canvassed in the streets of Croftfoot and Kings Park. Here is the leaflet for those events.

Details of rain garden locations

A pair between Curtis Avenue and Curling Crescent.

Four at the junction with Kingswood Drive.

A pair between Curling Crescent and the entrance to Hampden.

A pair at the shops between Kinmount and Mt Annan.
Another pair between Ardmay and Kingsbrae/ Kingsdale.

Four at the junction of Kinsbarns/ Kingshurst and Aikenhead.

A pair between Third Avenue and Kings Park Avenue.

On Kings Park Avenue, one to the west and one to the east of Kinghorn Drive.

One between Aikenhead Rd and Kingshill Dr, another between Kingshill and Kingshurst.

One to the east of Kingswood Dr.