Council seeks flood scheme hearing

Moray Council is to seek a procedural hearing in response to a request from a Scottish Government reporter for additional technical information on the proposed Elgin flood alleviation scheme. 

The council believes that a hearing would provide clarification on exactly what information Michael Cunliffe requires. 

Mr Cunliffe presided over a public inquiry into the long-awaited Elgin scheme in September and had been expected to make a recommendation to Scottish ministers early in the New Year. 

However, earlier this month one of his officials wrote to Moray Council asking for further information on aspects of the design work on the River Lossie downstream of Elgin . 

These include possible modifications to mitigate the risk of flood embankments being breached. 

The council has suggested a procedural hearing in January to discuss the technical issues and agree a means for dealing with Mr Cunliffe’s request for further information. 

A Moray Council spokesman said: “We believe such a hearing would be in everyone’s interests since it might avoid wasting time and resources on producing a report which may not provide precisely the information that the reporter is looking for.”