At a 2014 public information day, the OPW presented high flood walls as the emerging preferred option for Blackpool. They have since told me that this solution was dangerous due to the possibility of violent overtopping. Why then did they present this option to the public? #cork

Here is the excerpt from the letter I received from the OPW. It makes it clear that the emerging option presented at the public information day in 2014 was a non-runner to start with. #cork

Here's an excerpt from the brochure made available to the public from the public information day back in 2014.

Public feedback from the day is interesting too. A number of respondents seem to have got the impression somewhere that a box culvert would be a much better solution than ugly high walls. Amazing!

The OPW appear to have taken this expert advice seriously enough to dump their own idea.

Here's the poster from public information day two in July 2014. Flood defence walls are shown as the emerging preferred option for Orchard Court. If it was dangerous - as OPW now suggest - then it should not have been presented as the emerging preferred option. #cork

Here's the reason given as to why the open (walled) solution was rejected in favour of a culvert (closed) as shown in the jan 2016 Options Report. There is no reference to walls violently overtopping here.

Note the last line. I can find no evidence of 'the culverted alternative' in the Public Information Documentation from the July 2014 Public Information day referenced.

I am certain a few people fell asleep halfway through this thread.