Moray MSP Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, has been invited to mark the start of the scheme at a ceremony on Friday, July 11.

At Wednesday's full meeting of Moray Council, Councillor Pearl Paul (Speyside Glenlivet) said: "I am delighted this has reached this milestone, and look forward to July 11. A lot of work has gone into this, and I am pleased it has come this far."

Rothes was badly hit by flooding in 1997 and 2002, when it suffered flood damage totalling more than £3.5 million.

Its flood alleviation scheme has been five years in the planning, and gained the approval of Scottish Ministers in February of this year.

The scheme will see work carried out on three watercourses – the Back Burn, the Black Burn and the Rothes Burn – which flow through or near the town on their way to the River Spey.

The construction will take place in phases, with completion of the scheme by late 2010.

Meanwhile, Councillor Jeff Hamilton was elected to take the place of the late Councillor Alastair Bisset on the Moray Flood Relief Fund at Wednesday's meeting.

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