Even as waves threaten the north-east coast, assurances have been issued that a £12 million Stonehaven flood defence scheme should help residents get affordable insurance.
The coastal storms at Stonehaven in 2012 forced many families out of their homes and saw residents hit by insurance excesses of anywhere from £2,000 up to £10,000.
Many homes and businesses in the tourist town were uninsured because companies had refused to cover them following similar floods in 2009.
Properties at risk of flooding often have to pay prohibitively high premiums and affected residents struggled to get affordable renewal premiums.
The infrastructure services committee last year approved in principle for the preferred scheme to be taken forward to the legal order stage.
Kincardine and Mearns area manager William Munro said: “Once the preferred scheme is in place there should be a high level of protection which should help with insurance.
“The scheme is designed to achieve a one in 200-year level of protection in other words in any one year there is a 0.5% probability of a flood which would exceed the capacity of the scheme.”
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.
This will mean the town’s historic setting, its views and amenity are preserved, where a permanent wall of the necessary height will be less sensitive to its surroundings.
Several local bridges will be raised and at the Green Bridge, where this is impractical, a new bridge will be built.
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 said: “We are pleased with the progress that has been made in the year since the floods in December 2012.
“At a public meeting at Mackie Academy the chief executive gave a commitment that somebody would be appointed to work solely on the major flood prevention scheme.
“This was actioned very quickly and a dedicated principal engineer appointed.”