THE storm repair bill in Moray will hit £750,000 and it is not clear yet how much of that figure, if anything, will be met by the Scottish Government.
Councillors have approved the emergency works and permanent repairs needed in Moray.
The main damage was in Lossiemouth where a 40 metre section of harbour wall was demolished by the force of the waves.
The total cost of the works in Lossiemouth will be £720,000, which includes £500,000 for the harbour wall, £100,000 for new landscaping, £80,000 for a new footpath and £40,000 to replace play equipment.
In addition it will cost £10,000 to repair damage to the sea wall at Stewart Street in Portgordon, where stop-logs were washed away.
A further £20,000 will cover miscellaneous and emergency response costs.
The Scottish Government activated the Bellwin Scheme in the aftermath of the storm on December 15 which councils can bid in to in order to receive funding to help meet the costs of dealing with the emergency.
However, in Moray Council’s case that will only pay out on costs over £410,000 and work must be carried out within three months of the event.
A temporary repair of the damage at Lossiemouth has been put in place utilising precast interlocking Euroblocks borrowed from the Elgin Flood Alleviation Scheme. These will be needed for temporary works on the Elgin scheme in the spring, so a permanent repair is being designed for Lossiemouth.
Councillors were told these would withstand a similar storm, however, they are not a permanent repair.
Mark Palmer, Corporate Director of Corporate Affairs, said it was unlikely that any of the repair costs at Lossiemouth would be met from the Bellwin Scheme.
It was agreed that the leader of the Council, Allan Wright, and Councillor Fiona Murdoch, who has already written to Scottish Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse, will jointly seek discussions with Finance Secretary John Swinney over possible financial support towards the storm costs.
Read more on efforts to protect Kingston from the sea in 'The Northern Scot'.
