A Moray family who have been flooded out their home twice in two years have been told they will have to wait until 2019 before the council can protect it.
Neal and Claire Stewart, and their two young children, had to flee their Buckie property for a second time less than two weeks ago, after torrential rain caused a burn to burst its banks and sent water streaming into the town from the A942 road.
The couple claim they now fear it will happen again, and have urged the local authority to act to reduce that risk.
But council officers say the work will not be possible until 2019, as carefully plotted flood protection schemes are mapped out in cycles across the region.
Last night Mr and Mrs Stewart said they were prepared to “take matters into their own hands” to spare their Fairway Road home from harm, but worry for vulnerable neighbours who may struggle to cope with rising waters.
Mr Stewart said: “This might be something we have to take to government level, a few people in the area have been discussing starting a petition.
“We are probably going to have to take matters into our own hands now, which could mean building a wall around the house and having special doors installed to keep out floods.
“Last time, the water level stopped where it did purely because of drastic measures undertaken to redirect the flow of the burn.
“It could easily have reached older neighbours, who are less capable of dealing with it than we are.”
The Stewarts are arranging a meeting with staff from the nearby Tesco supermarket and Moravian Garage, which were also swamped beneath feet of water this month.
He added: “We want to find a way forward, we can’t go on like this.”
In 2014 the family had to leave their house for four months after floods hit.
Their worst fears were realised on June 14, when murky water again streamed into the property.
The couple tried to protect their valuables before fleeing their home with their children, aged 10 and 12, to spend the night elsewhere.
Mr Stewart said his family had been through “turmoil” since then, as they worked tirelessly on restoring the home to ensure they did not have to move out.
As they dealt with the aftermath, Buckie councillor Gordon McDonald called for an “urgent investigation” into the cause of the flooding.
This week, he sought reassurance that moves were being made to protect the south of the town from another ordeal.
He said: “I would hope that we can bring work on surface drainage in that area forward.
“People in Buckie are looking for a reassurance that drainage there is adequate.
“There are issues right along the A942 which will only be exacerbated as we go on, as there are plans for about 300 houses
and a business park in the area.”
Moray Council staff carried out preliminary investigations following the latest incident, and concluded the flood plain for the burn had not contained the water properly.
The local authority’s consultancy manager, Dave Gowans, said drainage problems were not at fault for the incident and confirmed that plans were in place to deal with surface water by 2019.
He explained that the proposals came in cycles, and that the next deadline was in three years time.
Mr Gowans said a lack of cash would prevent his team from carrying out preventative efforts until then.
