COASTAL flooding at Stonehaven and at the Farrochie Burn have been proposed as national priority areas for flood risk management – but the Council is waiting to hear if the Scottish Governmet will make funding available.
According to a report going before tomorrow’s Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee, the works recommended for Stonehaven should be undertaken between 2022 and 2028. Schemes at Ballater and Inverurie are also included in what is a second six-year cycle of actions recommended for the North East.
The projects will be will be taken to a detailed design stage but will only advance to procurement and construction if sufficient national funding can be secured.
Public consultation took place in 2019 looking at options for dealing with Stonehaven’s coastal flooding. Following this the main recommendation was to raise the sea wall. But this was not received favourably by Councillors who instead said other measures such as extending the Brachans and groynes should be implemented first.
It appears they have been heeded. Tomorrow’s report states: ”The detailed design for the Stonehaven Bay Coastal Flood Protection Scheme should be progressed based on the preferred option identified from the Stonehaven Bay Coastal Flood Protection Study – December 2019. This involves taking an adaptive approach and implementing further changes to defences after 30 years.”
At Farrochie, the recommendation is: ”The detailed design for the Farrochie Burn Flood Protection
Scheme should be progressed based on the preferred option identified from the Integrated Catchment Study – Optioneering Development Study – July 2021.”
But, as said earlier, the second cycle of works as proposed by Aberdeenshire Council is reliant on Government backing. Correspondence attached to the report, makes it clear this funding has not yet been confirmed, so the Flood Risk Management Plan cannot be finalised.
Meanwhile, the Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee is asked to consider, comment and make recommendations on the plan to the Infrastructure Services Committeemeets. They meet at Viewmount Chambers tomorrow Tuesday November 29 at 9.30am. The full agenda and reports area available online. The meeting is open to the public.