Members of Aberdeenshire Council will be asked to approve design work for the proposed Stonehaven Flood Protection Scheme later this week.

In 2014, approval in principle was given towards funding the construction of the project, up to a value of £15m. This phase of design work has been valued at £1.8m and includes design development, detailed design, tender preparation and technical support during the tender of the build contract.

A tender for the design was previously awarded to Mott MacDonald and following a detailed review of work done to date, the company is ready to begin the next design stage.

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Aberdeenshire Council has said if the development of the scheme progresses at its current rate, a notice for the proposed scheme will be advertised, as part of the legal process, by early summer 2015. The process means those with an interest in land affected by the scheme are consulted.

Formal objections to the scheme can be made, and if these cannot be resolved, the project will be referred to Scottish Ministers. If a Public Local Inquiry needs to take place, delivery of the scheme could be affected.

Philip McKay, Head of Roads and Landscape Services, explained: "While we are making every effort to progress this scheme as quickly as possible, it should not be expected that delivering such a project through the heart of historic Stonehaven will be easy.

"It is likely there will be a number of objections, so at this stage timescales are difficult to state with certainty but we will do what we can to avoid significant delays and deliver this scheme for the benefit of Stonehaven."

The report into the flood scheme is to be considered by members of Aberdeenshire Council's Policy and Resources Committee on Thursday (5 March).

(JP/CD)