Angry residents in a Mearns village are demanding answers for the catastrophic failure of a flood defence scheme.
While the focus was on Stonehaven, which was most seriously hit by floods at the end of December, Fettercairn was also swamped.
This was despite a flood prevention scheme opened a year ago and designed by Aberdeenshire Council to protect the village.
The Caulcotts Burn, which runs through the village and has been source of much misery over the years, once again burst its banks. The council’s Kincardine and Mearns area manager Willie Munro has admitted the scheme was simply overwhelmed.
He has now agreed to set up a meeting in the village to discuss the way ahead.
“We had exceptional weather circumstances on December 23 as everybody knows,” said Andy Hayes, a representative of the village on Mearns Community Council.
“But while 40 homes were flooded in Stonehaven, the situation in Fettercairn could have been as bad had not a bit of the river bank burst upstream and let some of the water escape.
“The Mearns settlements of Luthermuir, Marykirk, Auchenblae and St Cyrus also had problems and it’s disappointing there was no attention to anywhere other than Stonehaven.
“The council has a monitoring system when the water levels are rising but it appears nobody in Fettercairn was on their alert list.
“We had no council representation during or after the flood and it took a long time to organise a clean-up and then the centre of the village was ignored.
“We had nine inches of mud across the village but we couldn’t raise the council in any form. Phone calls didn’t work and it took five days for an acknowledgement to an email.
“If it hadn’t been for the villagers themselves, nothing would have been done.”
He added the flood defence scheme had still not been inspected, nor blockages cleared and there appeared to be no record of what had actually happened on the night.
“If we don’t know what went wrong, we can’t plan ahead,” Mr Hayes said.
“There is word now of building a secondary scheme and there is still an argument that the only real remedy is to clear out the burn. But it needs to be explained to us what can, or cannot, be done.”
Mearns councillor George Carr said promises had been made following previous flooding in 2009 and people had to be held to account.
He said: “The flood defence scheme was designed and completed with the active cooperation of local landowners. But unfortunately, it was still unable to cope.
“We now need to get feedback on what went wrong, what went well and to look at further measures which may be necessary and deployed in the future. It is vital local opinion is heard.
“The Scottish Environment Protection Agency and other agencies are also involved in giving consent and their officials also needed to be present.”
He hoped a plan of action with villagers could be organised in future to mitigate the worst effects of a flood when outside agencies might be slow to respond.
Councillor Dave Stewart said: “Before the flood scheme was put in place, people told the council and their experts what was needed but they were not listened to.
“The bed of the burn is now two or three feet higher than it was 100 years ago and nothing has been done.”
A spokeswoman for Aberdeenshire Council said: “We are looking to set up a meeting in Fettercairn and are currently trying to find a suitable date.”