Almondbank Flood Protection

Project value: £17.6 million

Sector: Coastal & Flood

Client satisfaction: 9/10

Community benefits on this project: £5.1 million

NVQs started/completed via this project: 20

Days worked by people not in employment/education: 235

With this scheme in place, we can offer greater assurance and peace of mind to the residents and communities of Almondbank and Lochty."

Councillor Angus Forbes

Environment and Infrastructure Committee | Perth and Kinross Council

Perth and Kinross Council delivered the Almondbank Flood Protection Scheme to reduce the risk of flooding to the local communities, and to protect homes, businesses and the local infrastructure while, at the same time, minimising the impact on the surrounding environment.

The project was delivered by Balfour Beatty via our Civil Engineering | Scotland framework, to deliver a series of flood defences, comprising of flood walls, raised embankments and erosion protection measures.

Almondbank and Lochty have experienced a long history of flooding from the River Almond and the East Pow Burn, with serious flooding events taking place in 1993, 1999 and more recently in January 2011.

With average annual flood damage estimated at £1.2 million by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Perth & Kinross Council needed to invest in more robust flood defences that would protect the community and mitigate flooding in the area.

The River Almond is a tributary of the River Tay and is designated a Special Area of Conservation. As this is an environmentally sensitive area, before work could commence, government bodies were consulted to ensure the works met the legal and contractual requirements for protecting the local area.

Over 150 properties in Almondbank were at risk from surface water and river flooding from both the River Almond and the East Pow Burn.

The project involved the creation of a series of flood defences and a temporary flood storage area that would provide protection for the area for a 1:200 year event.

Works included:

Installation of 1,150 linear metres of sheet-piled flood walls
1,600 metres of reinforced concrete flood walls
50 metres of earth embankments
2,000 metres of erosion protection measures
Raising and replacement of two vehicle access bridges
Relocation of the existing pedestrian bridge

To ensure the village and surrounding areas were fully protected, the existing highway drainage system was improved and additional drainage facilities created nearby. A temporary flood water storage reservoir also provided protection during the works.

The flood protection measures installed will protect a significant number of residential and commercial properties and infrastructure in the town of Almondbank for generations to come.

The Almondbank Flood Protection Scheme, proposed under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 (FRMA), was devised to not only reduce the risk of flooding, but also provide significant long-term safety, social and economic benefits to the community and a healthy economic return for the council.

All risks associated with natural habitats, archaeology, recreation and amenities were minimised through Early Contractor Involvement (ECI), data collection and ecological surveys. Some of the long-term environmental benefits of the scheme include the installation of bat and bird boxes in surrounding woodlands, tree planting and the creation of of a brand-new habitat for fish to spawn at Pow Burn.

Read our report – Flood Defences for the Future

£5.1m

community benefits created

£2.6m

spent with local SMEs

1130

days worked by graduates onsite