Work on Comrie’s £27m flood defences finally set to start

The long-awaited Comrie flood protection scheme is intended to prevent a repeat of the chaos that has hit the village in recent years.

By Morag Lindsay

January 6 2025, 6:00am

Comrie residents were rescued from their homes in the November 2012 flood. Image: Perthshire Picture Agency.

Work on Comrie’s long-awaited flood protection scheme is finally set to start next month.

The £27 million project has been designed to lower the risk of flooding from the Water of Ruchill, the River Earn and the River Lednock.

And it follows a series of devastating floods in Comrie.

Some of the worst episodes in recent years were in January 1993, February 1997, December 2006, and August and November 2012.

Council funding for the scheme was initially approved in 2017.

A community drop-in session will be held in the White Church, Comrie, on February 6.

View of White Church, Comrie, with River Earn in foreground. — The Earn is one of three Comrie rivers targeted by the flood protection scheme. Image: Steve MacDougall.

This will give locals a chance to ask questions before contractor Balfour Beatty makes a start on the main construction.

A 2.8km mix of flood defence walls and embankments are being built on the right bank of the Water of Ruchill and along both banks of the rivers Earn and Lednock.

Existing flood defences to the west of Dalginross are also being replaced.

These were constructed by Perth and Kinross Council in 2013 and were said to offer protection against a one-in-100-year flood event on the Water of Ruchill.

Cars parked outside houses in several feet of flood water along Camp Road, Comrie, in August 2012. — Cars on Camp Road, Comrie, were submerged by flood water when the Ruchil burst its banks in August 2012. Image: Perthshire Picture Agency.

The new scheme will help to safeguard properties alongside the other rivers too.

And this time the protection is being extended to a one-in-200-year flood event.

The aim is to protect 189 homes and businesses from flooding between the three rivers.

Council thanks locals for patience after flood defences delays

Balfour Beatty has set up a compound at the Field of Refuge car park.

Drivers are being urged to park elsewhere during the construction period.

Aerial view of Comrie, with White Church in foreground and River Earn, bridge, and south side of village beyond. — The contractor’s base is at the Field of Refuge car park across the River Earn from the White Church. Image: Shutterstock.

It’s hoped the works will be completed by autumn 2026.

The Scottish Government is putting up 80% of the costs and Perth and Kinross Council is funding the remaining 20%.

The original target date for completion of the Comrie flood protection scheme was 2022.

However, the finalised project was only approved by the Scottish Government in December 2021.

And the council has thanked Comrie locals for bearing with it during the preparations.

Perth and Kinross Council may have to borrow significantly more. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson

“Projects of the scale and complexity of the Comrie flood protection scheme will encounter challenges that can slow down progress,” said a spokesperson.

“The project has experienced some delays for various reasons, and we would like to thank the community for their ongoing patience.”

Materials from previous community drop-in sessions, including the last one at the White Church in September, are still available to view on the council website.

Further updates will be contained in the council’s next community newsletter, scheduled for February 2025.