A FLOOD Protection scheme Portgordon, which has a history of flooding, will not be progressed after its business case failed to stack up. But plans for a scheme at Lossiemouth’s Seatown are being taken forward for development by Moray Council. The decision was agreed at a meeting of the authority’s economic development and infrastructure services (ED&IS) committee last Tuesday. Homes in lower Portgordon are no stranger to inundation, with Stewart Street and Lennox Place particularly at risk. A study showed 66 properties are at risk, but providing protection in the form of a higher wall, along with a rock embankment and stepped revetment, would cost between £18-26 million. The ED&IS committee heard: “None of the options to significantly reduce wave over-topping achieved unity. Based on what would be considered a poor business case, it is unlikely that grant funding from Scottish Government would be made available to construct this scheme.” A drainage solution was also looked at, but studies showed it would safeguard just two homes. The report concluded the Portgordon flood scheme “should not be progressed further”.
Report by Sarah Rollo.
See full story in Banffshire Advertiser 18th June 2019