Venue: Council Chambers, East Ayrshire Council Headquarters, London Road

Date: 14 May 2026

For this session we welcomed Lucy Broadie of Scottish Water to deliver a presentation on Strategic Drainage Partnership working.

Scottish Water highlighted the importance of having a strategic drainage and water management vision as part of a masterplan and early engagement and collaboration ‘to get it right’ at the start.

Kilmarnock has significant flooding challenges and a lack of permeable Blue / Green infrastructure in its town centre as such developing a ‘Water Vision’ for Kilmarnock would be a best practice approach to water mitigation, designing for climate change and increasing biodiversity in the town.

Lucy explained how working with local authorities, regulators and communities leads to better rainwater and flood management. We heard how partnership working supports blue‑green infrastructure, improves water quality and builds climate resilience as she shared practical examples of how place‑based planning delivers better outcomes for communities and makes smarter use of public investment.

All in all, it was an extremely inspiring talk from Lucy and a key Partnership that can help us transform our town centre.

Siobhan McGale

Senior Architect