An Aberdeenshire community, devastated by the floods which hit the region in the wake of Storm Frank, has backed a call to create a local flood defence.
More than 200 people in Kemnay have backed a petition, led by Kembhill Park residents, to construct a flood barrier along the River Don and help protect them against future events.
About 50 parents, fearful of further flooding at the Alehousewells School, have also signed the petition along with residents of Bremner Way – which was also hit by the deluge.
Kembhill Park residents are hoping that a bund which stops at a local pumping station neighbouring their houses can be extended along the River Don.
They claim it was this gap in the flood defence which caused the river’s waters to flow into their homes, ravaging around 20 of them on January 7.
Forty-seven homes in Kemnay are recorded as having flooded when the river broke its banks during the storms, but locals believe the figure is nearer 62.
The Kembhill Park Flood Prevention and Resilience Group have called for the bund to be built up as soon as possible.
Chairman, Ken Ledingham, said: “We have got something like 99.9% of residents in Kembhill Park to sign the petition, only two haven’t signed and one is in China and the other is offshore.
“We wanted it to be seen that everyone in Kembhill Park and Bremner Way were in support of this flood barrier being fixed and not just four or five individuals.
“We have got all the residents in Kembhill Park saying we want them to fix the barrier.
“We had some very worried residents a couple of weeks ago when the river came up very quickly, and we had a flood alert issued for Aberdeenshire by Sepa (Scottish Environment Protection Agency).
“Luckily, it didn’t come up as far as it did before. It is a worry for residents here. Some of them are really getting quite anxious when it rains for any length of time.”
Kemnay has been left out of Aberdeenshire Council’s north-east local flood risk management strategy for 2016 to 2022.
However, Sepa is in discussions about designating the Garioch village as a potential vulnerable area (PVA).
