A £12 million flood defence scheme for Stonehaven has been approved.
The council’s infrastructure services committee has approved in principle for the preferred scheme to be taken forward to the legal order stage.
The scheme includes the use of innovative “floating walls” which can be raised from hidden chambers when the River Carron is threatening to burst its banks and will protect homes and businesses in the lower part of the town against the threat of a one-in-200-year flood event.
This will mean the town’s setting, its views and amenity are preserved, where a permanent wall of the necessary height would be less sensitive to its surroundings.
Several bridges will also be raised and at the Green Bridge, where this is impractical, a new bridge will be built.
Kincardine and Mearns area manager William Munro said: “The scheme has some innovative measures such as walls which will raise as the water level comes up.
“We feel that this is important as the Carron Water flows through a conservation area where the general environment and amenity is very special and deserves to be protected.”
Some residents were evacuated for the second time in three years when the Carron burst its banks last December, just days after a severe storm.
In the last year there has been extensive work on a flood prevention scheme including hydrological modelling, topographic, structural, environmental and ground investigation surveys.
Mr Munro added: “In addition to the main scheme, the council has bypassed a soakaway at the end of the lade that flows through the town and carries water in flood conditions.
“This should improve the capacity and lessen the risk of water backing up. It has also installed outfalls through a wall in the Old Town so that if water starts to gather some of it, albeit a relatively small proportion, will be able to escape and should there be another flood the flood water would be able to escape more quickly afterwards and this would lessen the damage to property.
“The council is also installing screens at a bridge further up stream which will help to prevent debris being washed down and getting trapped under bridges in the town.
“Work is also going to be done to remove some banking to increase the capacity both in terms of flow and storage during the flood.
“The council has also approved and sought tenders for the Arbuthnott Drain which will help to disperse water which gathers in the low part of the town having flowed down the roads from higher ground.”
Mr Munro said the council has worked closely with the Stonehaven Community Flood Action Group in support of their aims of making sure that there is long term protection, ensuring that there is goodresilience in the town.