Posted on December 8, 2025
The fate of protection plans for flood prone part of a south of Scotland town look set to finally be decided.
Proposals for the Whitesands area of Dumfries first surfaced decades ago and have been the source of debate ever since.
The estimated costs have now risen to £68.6m – 80% of which would come from the Scottish government – and Dumfries and Galloway Council will meet on 11 December to decide if the project should proceed.
BBC news website readers have been sharing their thoughts on whether or not it should commit the extra £8.7m needed to unlock that support from Holyrood.
Linda Powell, from Dumfries and Galloway, had a simple answer: “Definitely not!”.
“It will ruin the iconic views loved for centuries, and the cost is far too high,” she said.
“In addition trees along that stretch would be felled.
“As a former member of the Friends of Dock Park, l also think that the Dock Park, revamped only 11 years ago, would be severely impacted by the displacement of so much water.”
She suggested the council should study other solutions.
Linda Powell said she feared the impact on “iconic views” of the town
However, Mary MacIlwraith from Wigtown, said she felt the project should proceed.
“I think the flood scheme should go ahead so long as costs and construction are closely monitored,” she said.
“Flooding disrupts our county town in so many ways: loss of income, disruption to transport, damage to buildings and infrastructure.
“With climate warming flooding will become more likely.”
Dredging the river has been suggested as a solution by some
There was another “no” from Siobhan O’Connor from Dumfriesshire.
“I thought they were strapped for cash,” she said.
“They haven’t tried any other options, like dredging the river.
“Surely that’s worth a try before forking out millions to a contractor?”.
While she accepted flooding was a “huge problem” she said there were other issues like public transport, potholes and talk of removing free music lessons which should be addressed first.
Businesses and homes on the Whitesands are regularly flooded
Martyn Wrathall from Kirkcudbrightshire said what was being proposed was too expensive.
“For less money many of the existing flood-prone properties could be protected from the Nith floods,” he said.
“As has been clearly seen in recent years so-called flood protection measures have failed, been overtopped and caused more properties to be damaged than before the flood protection was put in.”
‘Revive the Whitesands’
For Vasilaros Vasileios, from Dumfries, the benefits would far outweigh any costs and should “definitely” go ahead.
“It will revive the Whitesands and the whole town,” he said.
“It will protect numerous businesses from random flood damage costing millions each time.”
That argument would not convince Simon Hyslop, also from the town.
“It would be cheaper to relocate the businesses that flood to higher ground in the town, accept that the Nith needs its flood plain and do what most places do – make the most of the asset that is a river through a town,” he said.
“It has flooded here for centuries and will try to do the same whatever is built.
“Think what this sum of money could do for potholes, housing, poor families and pensioners.”
