Plans to build new £9 million flood defences for rural west Perthshire have been approved by Perth and Kinross Council.
The local authority will now apply to the Scottish Government to source funding for the proposed scheme for Almondbank.
An extensive project is in the pipeline that will include a reinforced flood concrete wall, a sheet pile wall, proposed erosion protection and a kerb drainage system.
This follows flooding in Almondbank from the river Almond and East Pow Burn in 1993, 1999 and 2011. Residents were alarmed when the Black Bridge over the River Almond was washed away in the flood of 1993.
The Almondbank Flood Protection Scheme was published under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 on July 2. Those affected by the scheme were notified, and the scheme and an environmental statement were also made available for public inspection on the same date.
Grant funding of up to 80% of eligible capital costs is available from the Scottish Government to those local authorities that meet the criteria for funding.
As a result, Perth and Kinross Council will have to meet a minimum of 20% of the capital cost if it is successful in attracting government funding.
The proposed flood defence scheme will run from the College Mill Trout Farm to the edge of Pitcairnfield Industrial Estate, and from the bowling green in Almondbank to Low’s Work Cottages.
Flood defences are also planned for both banks of the East Pow Burn, from the A85 bridge at Lochty to the confluence with the river Almond.
The council consulted residents of Almondbank, Lochty and Huntingtowerfield at public exhibitions in January 2008 and June 2011.
“We await grant application invitations from the Scottish Government,” said a spokesman. “Once funding is made available by the Scottish Government, we will make a bid.”