Work on a key element of Elgin's £86m flood alleviation scheme has been completed.

Moray Council has said the completion of this phase bring a new lease of life to the area's Mansion House Hotel and Country Club which has been disrupted by works over the last 18 months.

Work on the ambitious flood project began more than two-and-a-half years ago, with much of the work being carried out in and around Elgin. While disruption was kept to a minimum, construction work at the Mansion House took place within yards of the 23-bedroom hotel and its leisure facilities. The main element involved dismantling and rebuilding - stone by stone - a wall which separated the hotel grounds from the River Lossie.


The wall, which has been faced with natural local sandstone to match the original stonework, has been built higher, by almost 6ft. Stonemasons reinstated the decorative top section which involved repairing and replacing some parts with new sandstone. A raised terrace has also been created and overlooks the river. It can be accessed from the lower level by a new set of steps and a ramp.

In addition, the work included extensive landscaping. It was initially scheduled to take around eight months to complete, but unforeseen problems with the condition of the original stone wall foundations saw the timescale more than double.

Councillor George Alexander, who chairs Moray Council's flood alleviation sub-committee, visited the site to view the completed work. He said: "The hotel is in an absolutely beautiful setting and I was delighted to see how well the flood alleviation works blend in.

"The work took considerably longer than anticipated but that is often the way with these extremely complex projects."

The Mansion House Hotel, as well as nearby homes, suffered flooding in 1997 and 2002 and the new flood scheme will provide protection for all of these properties.

(JP/CD)