Construction work is to begin on a flood risk management project in the Den Burn area of Aberdeen.

The scheme at the Maidencraig is one of four designed to help save houses and businesses in the neighbourhood and further downstream from being flooded.

Features include creating a new high raised path between the Maidencraig housing development and Hazlehead, which will provide a safe route to school, reduce the flood risk downstream and create a new wetlands area for nature.

In addition to the path's creation, new earth banks will be built, while the tributary burn will be relocated and opened-up to create new nature space. Further works include installing new lighting and replacing the temporary bridge over the Den Burn..

The path will be built on top of an earth bank of up to 2m high and will be about 5m wide, with shallow sloping sides. In order to safeguard properties downstream from flooding, the bank has also been designed to hold water back in storm events to a depth of up to 1m. To achieve this, a temporary bridge will be replaced with a new one while a large drainage pipe will be installed underneath.This aims to slow the flow of water in the Den Burn, allowing it to temporarily flood across the boggy area of the Den of Maidencraig during storms.

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A further two schemes set to be carried out in the area are Summerhill Swale & Miniature Wetland, and Fernielea School Sustainable Drainage (SuDS) Scheme, while a project at Stronsay Park was built in 2015. These are designed to flood and store water during storms to protect properties downstream, and also have environmental improvements.

The work stems from computer modelling carried out after the Den Burn flooded in previous years which pinpointed several areas which could be used to capture the extra water and hold it safely.

The council's flooding spokeswoman, Cllr Jennifer Stewart, said: "We're aware there's been several areas around the city which have been affecting by flooding, which causes misery and heartache for residents in their homes.

"One of these areas was around the Den Burn, both for local residents and also for people living further downstream. Officers carried out computer modelling and several schemes are now being built which are designed to flood and contain the water.

"It was good to see how well the Stronsay Park scheme worked, and I'm sure people in the area and down stream are very glad their homes weren't flooded yesterday.

"We hope that these new schemes will reduce the flood risk in Aberdeen, while at the same time provide more access options for the community and improve the local habitat for wildlife."

(LM)