Current status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 7 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-22487 by Mairi McAllan on 9 November 2023, whether it will provide an update on which of the 42 formal flood protection schemes or engineering works are (a) under construction and (b) at the planning or other stage of development, broken down by the (i) expected completion date, including the reason for any date being beyond the 2021 timeframe, (ii) number of properties that will be protected and (iii) (A) initial forecast and (B) final expected cost of each.
The responsibility for development and delivery of flood protection schemes rests with individual local authorities, who are best placed to respond to local resilience needs.
The first set of Flood Risk Management plans covering the period 2015-2021 included 42 prioritised flood protection schemes. Work was expected to start, but construction was not necessarily expected to be completed, on those schemes within this six-year timeframe.
Flood protection schemes have impacts on individuals, communities and the environment, and require careful and thorough planning. Like all infrastructure projects, it can take many years for flood schemes to progress from option appraisal to completion.
The Scottish Government provides funding to local authorities to enable delivery of these important projects. £570million will be invested in flood resilience in the period 2016-2026.
40 of 42 have received funding to support development. 2 were not deemed eligible because they had previously received funding.
16 schemes are complete. The detailed status of those that remain is as follows:
4 are under construction.
Scheme | (ii) Properties protected | (i) Completion Date | (iii A) Initial cost (£ million) (1) | ( iii B) Estimated final cost (£ million) (2) |
Upper Garnock | 600 | ?2024 | ?15.5 | 18.5 |
Hawick | 970 | 2024 | 37.4 | 78.6 |
Campbeltown | 770 | 2024 | 9.3 | 15.2 |
Millport Coastal | 657 | 2024 | 12.1 | 48.6 |
Schemes (b) under development are as follows:
2 will commence construction in 2025.
4 have been legally confirmed as required under the FRM Act (2009) and are undergoing further development and detailed design towards construction.
5 have begun the legal notification process towards confirmation.
Scheme | Stage | (ii) Properties protected | (iii A) Initial cost (£ million) (1) | ( iii B) Estimated Final Cost of Scheme (2) |
Milnathort | Construction start 2025 | 79 | 1.9 | 0.9 |
Mill Burn Millport | Construction start 2025 | 124 | 1.1 | 1.7 |
Kilmacolm – Glenmosston Burn | Confirmed (3) | Not held | 0.5 | 0.5 |
Comrie | Confirmed (3) | 189 | 15.7 | 40.0 |
Dumfries - Whitesands | Confirmed (3) | 166 | 18.9 | 37.5 |
Quarrier’s Village | Confirmed (3) | 60 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
Dumbarton - Gruggies Burn | Legal notification complete (4) | 370 | 14.5 | 20.0 |
South Kinross | Legal notification complete (4) | Not held | 3.2 | 15.1 |
Musselburgh | Legal notification complete (4) | 2500 | 8.9 | 95.9 |
Bridge of Allan | Legal notification complete (4) | Not held | 4.4 | 17.0 |
Newton Stewart/ River Cree | Legal notification complete (4) | 270 | 7.5 | 19.1 |
8 have been withdrawn from the cycle one funded programme (2 voluntarily and 6 because they failed to meet the notification deadline of 31 March 2024). 1 is no longer required.
(1) Note: Initial costs as provided by local authorities in 2016-17.
(2) Note: Final Scheme costs are the latest estimates provided by local authorities. Differences between these latest estimates and initial cost estimates arise as a result of inflationary pressures and because flood protection schemes are put forward for prioritisation at various stages of their development to fit with Flood Risk Management Planning cycle set out in the FRM Act. Costs are revised over time as designs are finalised and more detailed investigations are carried out and as new information emerges.
Schemes will only be taken forward for construction if they receive the necessary statutory and regulatory approvals, so the expected completion date is not yet known.
More detailed information on each of the schemes can be obtained from the relevant local authorities whose responsibility it is to develop and deliver flood protection schemes and who are best placed to answer specific questions on each of the schemes.
(3) Note: Formally confirmed under Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act (2009).
(4) Note: Notification (first stage towards legal confirmation) complete under Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act (2009)