A Perthshire hotelier says devastating flooding has cost him around half a million pounds.
David Coupar, 54, who owns the Alyth Hotel, said he hopes to reopen around mid-March and has officially lodged plans for the building’s redevelopment with Perth and Kinross Council.
It has been established that the flash flood which hit the Perthshire town on July 17 last year was a “one in 200-year” natural disaster that saw a six-hour deluge cause chaos to residents and businesses.
The Alyth Hotel was one of the worst affected, with its ground floor almost ruined when it was submerged under three feet of water.
The business has been closed since the flood and Mr Coupar revealed the extent of the financial cost to try to redevelop the hotel and also highlighted lost revenue during this period.
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“The builders and the insurers have talked about a quarter of a million pounds rebuild cost and by my rough calculations I reckon another quarter of a million pounds will have been lost in sales,” he said.
“Only time will tell how long it takes to get the business back to where it was before the flood.
“We’re nearing the completion of the rebuild thankfully and we have been given the date of March 12 when the builders hope to hand the keys over to ourselves.
“Hopefully then we will just need a week to clean, lay carpets and get all the equipment installed before we open the doors that is the plan at the moment.
“The Alyth community have been very supportive and I’m sure when we initially open we will be inundated by locals.”
The plans, which were lodged this week, show the ground floor of the Alyth Hotel having an upper dining area, a dining snug, a lounge, a public bar and a beer garden built after the extensive redevelopment.
Flooded residents in the Springbank area of the town were delighted to be able to move back into their council homes just before Christmas.
It was recently announced that the Alyth Flood Fund, which was established following the flooding to help affected householders, will be wound up at the end of this month.