Vote to go ahead with Stonehaven flood defence plans

ABERDEENSHIRE councillors today voted to press ahead with plans for a £12 million scheme to prevent a repeat of the floods which have devastated the coastal town of Stonehaven twice since November 2009.

Emergency workers wading through floodwater in Stonehaven last December. Picture: PA

The proposals, approved at a meeting of the authority’s infrastructure services committee in Aberdeen, include the use of innovative “floating walls” which can be raised from hidden chambers when the River Carron is threatening to burst its banks.

The long awaited scheme will protect homes and businesses in the lower part of the town against the threat of a one in 200 year flood event. But the project is not expected to be completed until mid 2017 at the earliest.

Last week a new flood alert system for the town was announced by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. It will be used to alert the residents and owners of more than 850 homes and businesses at risk in the town until the flood prevention scheme can be completed.