Publication - FOI/EIR release

Transport Scotland - Flooding & drainage works on A7: EIR release

Published: 11 August 2026
Topic: Public sector, Transport
FOI reference: EIR/202600522163
Date received: 16 June 2026
Date responded: 25 June 2026

Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.

Information requested

Our request relates to reports of flooding on, and drainage works carried out on the A7, in the immediate vicinity of Brierybank Ewes, Langholm, DG13 OHJ. The location is found at grid reference E337186 and N591231.

We understand that the management of the A7 is the responsibility of BEAR Scotland.

Please provide us the following information in relation to the A7, in the immediate vicinity of Brierybank Ewes, Langholm, DG13 0HJ.

1. All road and drain inspection records for A7, in the immediate vicinity of Brierybank Ewes, Langholm, DG13 9JH, covering the period from 01 January 2014 to date showing when the road and drains on the road or verges were inspected, and the findings of any such inspections.

2. All records of complaints, reports or notifications received of flooding on the A7 in the immediate vicinity of Brierybank Ewes, Langholm, DG13 9JH, from 01 January 2014 to date, and of all action taken in response, including dates and description of the actions.

3. All records of work carried out or scheduled to be carried out to drains on the A7 surface or verges in the immediate vicinity of Brierybank Ewes, Langholm, DG13 9JH, from 01 January 2014 to date and the description of all such works.

4. All records showing the inspection frequency and maintenance policy applicable for road drainage on A roads such as the A7.

5. All records showing any reports of road accidents in the immediate vicinity of Brierybank Ewes, Langholm, DG13 9JH, covering the period from 01 January 2014 to date.

Response

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Q1. You requested all road and drain inspection records for A7, in the immediate vicinity of Brierybank Ewes, Langholm, DG13 9JH, covering the period from 01 January 2014 to date showing when the road and drains on the road or verges were inspected, and the findings of any such inspections.

A1. Please see Annexes A and B to this response for inspection details for the location requested.

Please note BEAR Scotland only hold this information from April 2022 this is because Transport Scotland's asset management system for the Scottish trunk road network was developed and put into use in 2022, to collect, store, manage and analyse information about trunk road assets.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have some of the information you have requested.

As a result. some historical information is not available. Where possible, previous information has been retrieved from Transport Scotland's Integrated Road Information System (IRIS).

This exception is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in the information requested above, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

Q2. You requested all records of complaints, reports or notifications received of flooding on the A7 in the immediate vicinity of Brierybank Ewes, Langholm, DG13 9JH, from 01 January 2014 to date, and of all action taken in response, including dates and description of the actions.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have some of the information you have requested.

Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), Transport Scotland is not required to provide information which it does not have. Transport Scotland does not some of the information you have requested, because this may have been routinely destroyed, in accordance with standard records management practice, before the date of your request. Transport Scotland's former Integrated Road Information System (IRIS) was superseded by the Asset Management Performance System (AMPS), which began development in 2019 and is now the primary asset management system for the Scottish trunk road network.

As a result. some historical information is not available. Where possible, previous information has been retrieved from Transport Scotland's Integrated Road Information System (IRIS).

A2. Please see Annex C to this response for details of contact regarding flooding at the required location.

An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exception is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception.

Q3. You requested All records of work carried out or scheduled to be carried out to drains on the A7 surface or verges in the immediate vicinity of Brierybank Ewes, Langholm, DG13 9JH, from 01 January 2014 to date and the description of all such works.

A3. Please see Annexes D and E to this response for details of works carried out.

Transport Scotland's former Integrated Road Information System (IRIS) was superseded by the Asset Management Performance System (AMPS), which began development in 2019 and is now the primary asset management system for the Scottish trunk road network. As a result. some historical information is not available. Where possible, previous information has been retrieved from Transport Scotland's Integrated Road Information System (IRIS).

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have all of the information you have requested.

Q4. You requested all records showing the inspection frequency and maintenance policy applicable for road drainage on A roads such as the A7.

A4. Please see Annex F to this response, which is an extract from the Trunk Road Information Manual, outlining the inspection requirements and Annex G to this response which is a copy of the Trunk Road Information Manual. It may also be helpful to know that each year at least two safety inspections are carried out either during, or immediately following a period of extensive rainfall to identify areas prone to flooding. A minimum period of three months is required between each of these safety inspections.

Q5. You requested all records showing any reports of road accidents in the immediate vicinity of Brierybank Ewes, Langholm, DG13 9JH, covering the period from 01 January 2014 to date.

A5. Please see Annex H to this response for details of the total number of accidents on the A7 from Eskdalemuir junction to where Meikledale Burn passes below the A7, broken into a table reflecting each year from 1 January 2014 to 7 June 2026.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have some of the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing that part of your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because records held by Transport Scotland relate only to collisions involving injuries or fatalities that have been reported to, and are known by, Police Scotland. As such, we do not hold records of collisions that resulted in damage only.

This exception is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about road accidents in the immediate vicinity of Brierybank Ewes, Langholm, DG13 9JH, covering the period from 01 January 2014 to date of your request, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

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