Flood prevention measures are being considered for an area of Perth that has a history of flash floods.
Parts of Bridgend were left devastated by a sudden deluge which turned streets into streams on July 16 2011, with a river wall being swallowed into the river Tay at one point.
East Bridge Street was particularly badly hit, with firefighters called from Perth, Coupar Angus, Auchterarder, Crieff, Dunkeld and Dundee to help stem the flooding which hit a number of businesses.
The Courier understands that Perth and Kinross Council is now recommending the installation of high capacity drainage beside the river Tay to alleviate the problem.
The local authority has confirmed that it is looking into the matter after engaging consultants for the flood defence scheme.
A council spokesperson said: “Work to develop an interim solution to the flooding previously experienced at Bridgend Cross is ongoing.
“The council has engaged consultants Capita to develop potential solutions to address the problem, including further investigation of the existing public utility services in the area.
“Further work is required to develop this particular aspect of the project as the recent investigations have shown there are a number of affected services in the area and diverting these could potentially lead to a significant increase in costs.
“We will report back to the community on this once we have further information.”
She added that there was no figure as yet on the proposed cost of the flood defence scheme.
Councillor Peter Barrett, one of the representatives for the Perth City Centre ward, outlined the importance of the action to shops and businesses in Bridgend.
“The 2011 flood was a freak weather event, with persistent heavy thunder and rain, the like of which I’ve never experienced in Perth before, on top of already saturated ground,” he said.
“There has been work done on ways to improve the drainage system at the junction, then further work done on specification and costings.
“The stumbling block might come in cost benefit analysis and the number of businesses the scheme would protect,” warned Mr Barrett.