Proposals for five multi-million-pound flood protection schemes in Aberdeenshire communities have been recommended for approval.
Officers for Aberdeenshire Council have been working for years to put together plans to prevent further tragedies in towns and villages throughout the region which has historically been the worst-hit by flooding.
In recent months, the officer’s preferred options for the communities of Ellon, Inverurie and Port Elphinstone, Insch, Ballater and the Stonehaveven Bay Coastal scheme have all gone to area committees.
And next week, the authority’s infrastructure committee will have a final say on whether or not they should be granted approval and submitted in a bid for Scottish Government funding.
The total estimated cost for all five of preferred options is around £74.5 million.
The local authority prioritised putting each of the communities for flood protection measures due to devastating events in recent years, such as when Storm Frank left many parts of Inverurie and Port Elphinstone under water.
Each preferred option has been selected for having the largest impact with the most reasonable price tag.
However, some of the proposals put forward have been met with criticism from local communities, such as in Ballater where there has been concern about plans to build a flood wall directly through the Deeside village’s golf course.