Scottish Liberal Democrats are calling for the Elgin Flood Alleviation Scheme to be fast-tracked in the wake of major disruption in the area caused by heavy rainfall this week.
As the clean-up in the town continued after a downpour forced the evacuation of hundreds of properties in Elgin and Fochabers, Liberal Democrat local government spokesman and North East MSP, Alison McInnes, said the recent weather demonstrated how important the scheme was for the area.
‘Recent chaos caused by heavy rainfall in the area has shown just how important this scheme is to the local community,’ Mrs McInnes said. ‘SNP ministers, however, have done little to bring this scheme forward since it was lodged on 18 December last year. This is a delay of more than nine months. People in Elgin have faced the problem of severe flooding to their homes and community for many years.’
Moray Council approved the alleviation scheme in principle three years ago. Since then, the project has gone through due planning and legal processes. There have been 14 objections to the scheme by some local residents and businesses, and a public inquiry will start later this month.
The Scottish Government said the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 would speed up the scheme. Environment minister, Roseanna Cunningham, said: ‘Elgin is undoubtedly in need of a flood-prevention scheme but a number of local factors – none of this Government’s making – have contributed to the time taken to get one in place.
‘The new flooding legislation introduced and steered through Parliament by the Government will speed up the process considerably.’ The Act, passed in May this year, will remove the need for objections to be made to the Scottish Government for future schemes.
Moray is yet to calculate a cost of the clean-up, but a council statement said that its insurance policy carried an excess of £5m in respect of claims for flood damage. Officials hope to recover some costs from the Scottish Government via the Bellwin scheme.
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