Council confirms that bridges destroyed by flooding near King Edward will be re-instated
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Aberdeenshire politicians have welcomed news that all six bridges in the King Edward area, washed away by heavy rainfall two years ago, are to be rebuilt.
Since persistent rainfall in September 2019 caused floods across the area, residents and businesses have been forced to endure long detours around closed roads and difficulties with emergency vehicle and service access.
Aberdeenshire Council officers have notified elected members that next week’s meeting of the Banff and Buchan Area Committee will hear plans to reinstate the spans.
Officers are bringing forward legal stopping up orders to the meeting for the Gorrachie, Mill of Balmaud, Bruntyards and Mill Croft bridges for the present time as the road closures had only been filed as temporary measures earlier this year passed the legal date for their removal.
This in turn prompted an extension by Scottish Ministers to allow the formalities to be concluded, but objections were raised by local residents over the traffic orders, both on the grounds that it was not appropriate to use the Road Traffic Act to do so and that Section 122 of the Road Traffic Act was also being breached in relation to access for emergency vehicles being blocked.
Councillors will be asked to discuss these concerns, which officers feel have been addressed by the legal team.
Local councillors Mark Findlater and Iain Taylor have welcomed the imminent return of Bridge of Fortrie alongside North Litterty Bridge and Bruntyards Culvert in this financial year, to be followed by Gorrachie, Millcroft and Mill of Balmaud in 2022.
Troup councillor Mr Findlater said: “The King Edward rainfall caused a huge and immediate problem and losing so many bridges at once has been a headache for residents.
“The council is responsible for more than 1300 bridges on our road network and it is a huge task to maintain them all.
“There are many more areas across the county which will need looked at, but I have long argued that this sudden loss needs fixed as soon as possible.”
Turriff and District councillor Mr Taylor said: “Replacing these bridges has been our priority locally and I am thrilled that this area will soon be able to recover fully from the events of two years ago.
“I’d like to thank local residents for their input to the process, which has been long - but there is an end in sight.”
Banff and Buchan Conservative MP David Duguid said: “This is welcome news that will give the residents and businesses of King Edward some much-needed certainty.
“I have been in regular contact with the council on behalf of a community that has effectively been cut in half for the past two years.
“And I have been checking progress made at Bridge of Fortrie as work goes on."
