The head of Aberdeenshire Council has revealed the local authority’s flood bill following Storm Frank is now nearing £10million.
Chief executive Jim Savege was in Ballater yesterday to view the progress to rebuild the flood bank at the village’s golf club, having met the Queen during her royal visit earlier in the day.
He also confirmed the local authority is in talks with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) to look at “long-term options” across the whole of Aberdeenshire following the events of last winter.
More than 600 homes and 100 businesses are estimated to have flooded in Aberdeenshire during Storm Frank.
After the events along the Dee in December, on January 7 the rivers Don and Ythan overflowed causing further devastation.
Work by CR Contracting has now started on a 130ft like-for-like replacement of the Ballater Golf Club bund, which was overtopped on December 30.
Speaking yesterday Mr Savege said the cost of the floods to the local authority was not between £9million and £10million.
Mr Savege said: “There is one pot of money there but we understand the flood work is a priority and that is what it has been given.”
“I am really pleased to have the team on site getting on with the repair to the bund, we are taking it back to its original state and doing some reinforcement as well so it is going to have some resilience to withstand the weather that comes this direction.
“The river has changed its course, its direction, now. This gets us back to where we were before Storm Frank.
“For routine flooding if you can it that way it is then going to have the resilience they need.
“If you look up Port Elphinstone, Kintore, Kemnay, other areas that have flooded, we are doing the same work there as well.
“We’re working with Sepa now doing some studies to look at what the long term options are. We have got to take time to do that well.”
The work is going ahead despite calls from the Ballater Flood Group for the council to redesign the flood bank, taking account of the Dee’s changed river channel.
Responding to the concerns of the Ballater Flood Group, Mr Savege said: “I think there are a lot of different experts out there and we do take account of their views.
“We have worked on this with Sepa, we are happy with the work we are doing, that is why we are doing it.
“We understand their anxiety and wanting to have the best protection the community can have.
“We absolutely respect their views, take them into account, and then made a judgement to get on with work.”
On meeting the Queen for the first time, Mr Savage said: “It was a very special moment meeting the Queen and her taking the time to come and meet the community and staff and give recognition on all the hard work that has taken place, and to take a personal interest in the community.”