Flood-hit householders have questioned why it cost £125,000 to conclude that flood defence measures are too expensive to be built in their village.
A pair of separate consultant reports were commissioned into whether defences should be built on the Millstone Burn through Greenloaning, near Dunblane.
But after almost nine years, Perth and Kinross Council concluded that potential plans should be abandoned, leaving residents responsible for protecting their own properties.
The in-depth study by the second set of consultants said the cost of the work would outweigh the potential savings benefit.
George Scobbie, whose home was flooded in 2004, said: “I thought there were professionally qualified officers in the council who could take that work on.”
As it became clear at a meeting of the environment committee that the plans were to be ditched, council roads manager, Chic Haggart explained the hefty outlay.
He said: “The council has spent approximately £125,000 in developing the possible scheme. Unfortunately there is little we can do to avoid that.
“With any proposed flood mitigation scheme we must bring it forward to a detailed design to establish the cost benefit analysis. We have to undertake that to understand if the scheme will be financially viable.”
Villagers have been hoping for work to take place since the stream backed up in 2004 and six houses and the pub were flooded.
Villagers claim the natural banks along the watercourse were breached during a development and they have lived in fear of a fresh flood ever since.
Mr Scobbie addressed the meeting and urged it to defer any decision. He said the Millstone Burn should remain on the council’s maintenance schedule and the authority should write to riparian owners, urging them to maintain the banks.
He added that doing nothing was not an option. The consultants, Halcrow, had established three possible solutions to the flooding one of which cost £99,000, less than the amount paid for the reports.
The only scheme to offer full protection would have cost over £1.6 million and none met the Scottish Government funding trigger. The council was told that small-scale, self-funded measures would not be enough.
Councillor Grant Laing said: “We’re being forced to disappoint the residents and I can understand the feelings they have.
“I know that consultations are expensive but they are being paid more than one of the options would cost and it doesn’t sit well.”
Councillor Callum Gillies said: “Why did we not pick up earlier that we wouldn’t meet the (Scottish Government funding) criteria before the money was spent on this?
“Are we now just walking away, leaving these properties to flood? We have to look a lot closer at flood risk areas to stop this kind of thing happening.”
Jim Valentine, the council’s executive director (environment), said: “There is some duty on the council to try to ensure riparian owners carry out work to mitigate flooding further downstream.
“I fully understand residents’ concerns over that but it is a very difficult balance between the duties of the council and Sepa and the riparian owners.”
Agreement to abandon plans for flood defences in Greenloaning was unanimous.