Angus Council has announced that the £12 million The Arbroath (Brothock Water) Flood Protection Scheme, which is funded by Scottish Government and Angus Council, is designed to reduce the risk of flooding from the Brothock Water, which runs through the coastal town, and provide a one in 200-year standard of protection.

It is a national priority project under the Flood Risk Management Strategy and has been developed in partnership with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). The scheme is designed to hold back flows in the catchment above Arbroath to reduce flows in Brothock Water, thus protecting parts of the town that have suffered from flooding in the past and remain at risk from flooding.

It will remove 530 people and their properties from their current level of flood risk, preventing flood damage that averages at £840,000 each year.

In common with many large-scale construction works carried out in recent times, the flood protection scheme has had to be delivered within constraints imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic for much of the build. However, it has continued to make good progress.


Flood storage areas at Brothock Meadows and St Vigeans are well-advanced, with the flow control elements in place. The embankment at Brothock Meadows is completed and the finishing works to the embankment at St Vigeans are underway. The grass seeding on the embankments is due to be carried out in spring next year.

The flood storage area works sited at Hercules Den are complete. The grass seeding on the location of the site has been completed and grass seeding of the embankment will again be undertaken in the spring of 2023.

The last of the 'in-town' operations are underway and are supported with traffic management systems at the A92 and East Grimsby. Traffic can still access East Grimsby on a one-way system from the A92.

The Council and project contractors Morrison Construction are trying to keep disruption around this work to a minimum and appreciate the public's support for this. Businesses in the area are operating as normal and, while parking around the traffic management is restricted, there is parking available at the harbour and on Shore Road.

Efforts have been maintained to engage with the public throughout the construction stages of the project. This has included site visits by Dundee & Angus College students to see the works at first hand, followed by presentations as a part of their coursework. Students from Abertay University's Civil Engineering course (years 1-3) have also been welcomed on site visits, as have young people and teachers from Arbroath Academy who expressed an interest in the scheme for their schoolwork.

Project managers and staff have also visited local groups to discuss the scheme with them. Morrison's have also been engaged with the government's Kickstart Scheme on this project, providing valuable on-site work experience to two local people this year.