Members of the Banff and Buchan Area Committee have approved a study into the viability of building a second bridge across the river Deveron.

At its December meeting, the committee approved a tender for a detailed assessment to determine the feasibility of constructing a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists between Banff and Macduff alongside the existing road bridge.

Cllr Andy Kille, Banff and Buchan Area Committee chair, said: "The committee welcomes the proposals to move forward on assessing the options for a new active travel bridge between Banff and Macduff.

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"While the view of the committee remains for the need for a replacement road bridge, the provision of an additional pedestrian and cycle bridge gives us the options to improve safety of pedestrians and improve the traffic flow on the existing bridge and is more deliverable in the medium term given the pressures on the council's capital budget."

An earlier study in considered a range of options for the route, including making alterations to the road bridge, constructing a pedestrian and cycle bridge or building a new road bridge. The outcomes of this study were reported to the area committee in 2017 but a lack of funding meant further work was not carried out at that time.

In 2015, an assessment was carried out on the impact the road bridge makes on the economy of Banff and Macduff.

The upcoming study will look at technical and environment issues posed by construction of a new bridge, consider the most appropriate plan and will produce outline designs.

The tender is to be issued within the next few weeks and the findings reported back to the committee by the end of 2019.