A deadline to carry out repairs to a damaged seawall in Lossiemouth, Moray, has been extended.

In a statement, the local authority confirmed the initial deadline of 31 March given by ministers had been moved back.

In December 2012, the wall was damaged during severe heavy weather. The Scottish Government agreed to fund half of the £450,000 cost of a permanent repair of the structure, but said that the money had to be used before the end of the current financial year. While the contract to carry out the repairs was awarded last year, work on the project was delayed due to high tides and a heavy swell.

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As a result, Councillors wrote to the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Paul Wheelhouse, to ask for an extension to the deadline. The final decision was made by Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead who agreed to carry the funding over into the new financial year.

Welcoming the news, Moray Council Leader Allan Wright, said: "We are very grateful to Mr Lochhead for allowing us this degree of flexibility. The weather over the past few weeks has enabled good progress to be made on the repair work, but we don't know what the weather might do over the next month or so and the deadline relaxation is very welcome.

"I also welcome the fact that the final cost of the work is likely to be significantly less than the original estimate."

(JP)