Spey anti-flood proposals to come before Moray Council
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Moray Council will be asked to spend £86,000 – or produce alternative plans – to reduce the risk of more flooding in Garmouth.
The River Spey's powerful course has been moving progressively westwards over recent years, bringing it ever closer to the village.
A report commissioned by the local community council has proposed various measures to encourage the Spey back towards its original course.
Dr Hamish Moir, an Inverness-based geomorphologist, advises that this can be done relatively cheaply by digging trenches on the eastern side of the river's flood plain, while using fallen trees as barriers on its west side.
A motion is set to go before Moray Council a week on Wednesday.
It will ask the council to either spend the £86,000 or come up with costed alternative measures.
Councillor Marc Macrae (Fochabers/Lhanbryde, Conservative) said: "My motion seeks to instruct officers to bring back a paper with formal proposals, including the community plan, so councillors can decide in November what action will be taken."
"I have met on numerous occasions with residents and landowners keen to seek a solution to, at the very least, help reduce the frequency of floods in the village.
"The local community have been very active behind the scenes, getting their own studies completed, obtaining drone equipment to monitor the river course and engaging with all agencies to seek cooperation in producing a plan to move the issue forward.
"The council have got to make a decision to help or not.
"I firmly believe we should."
The motion is being seconded by Tim Eagle (Buckie, Conservative).
He said: "Flooding is something that everyone across Moray is well aware of.
"Not that long ago signs erected on the A96 promoted the fact that £86million had been spent on a flood alleviation scheme in Elgin.
"The community works being suggested here at a total of £82,000 would be a thousandth of the cost of the Elgin scheme.
"It's a small price to protect home and business owners in Garmouth."
