Work to repair a north-east harbour seawall which was ravaged by storms could soon be under way.
Aberdeenshire Council agreed to rebuild 34ft of the Almanythie seawall in Peterhead at an estimated cost of £65,000 as part of a package of flood and harbour repair works last year.
Now the local authority has put the scheme out for tender and is inviting contractors to bid on the project.
The work includes the construction of a “mass concrete seawall” approximately 34ft long as a replacement for an area of collapsed masonry.
Contractors will also need to shore up the ground behind the wall and re-instate a post and rail fence along the town of the finished structure.
The deadline for completed tenders is March 9 and the council is expected to announce its preferred contractor before April.
The funding for the scheme was set aside in March last year when Aberdeenshire councillors backed a raft of flood prevention measures across the region.
More than £800,000 could be spent in Aberdeenshire to strengthen flood defences, and £280,000 was specifically set aside for coastal protection in areas including Peterhead as well as Stonehaven and Foveran.
The Almanythie scheme is the largest single outlay on flood measures promised by the local authority.
In his report to the councillors, infrastructure chief Stephen Archer said: “Aberdeenshire Council has a duty to inspect watercourses from time to time and assess the flooding risks associated with them.
“The council is then required to undertake clearance and maintenance works where these will lead to a significant reduction in the flood risk to property.”
Around £47,000 has also been set aside to protect the Roanheads area of Peterhead which is regularly hit by flooding in stormy weather.
As part of the scheme, the local authority has submitted a bid to increase the height of the seawall by about 2ft in the historic fishing neighbourhood to prevent waves from “overtopping” and damaging homes.