Contamination holds up flood scheme

Work on a flood alleviation scheme has been delayed as a result of ongoing work to clear up contamination near a distillery.


The project to stop flooding in Rothes, in Moray, Scotland, has been held up as authorities try to deal with the problem, near the Glen Grant Distillery.

The three-phase scheme, which involves work on the Black Burn and Rothes Burn, was expected to be fully completed by December 2010.

Work on the first phase, which was expected to finish next month, is now not projected to finish until the end of this year according to a report presented to members of Moray Council.

The second phase began last month but is also running behind schedule, and work on the final phase, which was supposed to start last October, is not yet underway.

Members of the council’s Flood Alleviation Sub-Committee were told it was fortunate that the contractors working on the Rothes flood scheme were able to continue with other parts of the work despite the contaminated land issues.

Papers presented to the meeting revealed that the cost of the Rothes flood alleviation scheme has risen by an estimated £80,000, to a total of £750,000 for the tax year 2008-09.

Councillors also raised concerns that similar issues could arise with another planned scheme for the nearby town of Elgin, according to reports in the Northern Scot.

According to the paper, Councillor John Russell, chairman of the sub-committee, told the meeting: “I don’t think alarm bells were ringing at our last committee meeting.

“The slippage from March to December is a big delay, and this could carry on into the Elgin one. This is an issue which has to be sorted out.”

However, a spokesman for Moray Council told edie it was unlikely that the delay on the Rothes scheme would affect the Elgin scheme.

“Work on the Elgin scheme has not even started yet. It will not begin until next year at the earliest,” he said.

Kate Martin

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