01 July 2016

Aberdeenshire Council takes receipt of petition from flooded Kemnay residents

A petition from Kemnay residents affected by Storm Frank has been presented to Aberdeenshire Council.

The petition was brought to Aberdeenshire Council’s Woodhill House headquarters in Aberdeen yesterday (Thu, Jun 30) by a group of Kembhill Park residents directly affected by the flooding earlier this year.

It calls for work to be undertaken to fill a gap in an existing flood defence that surrounds the housing estate.

The petition was presented by Ken Ledingham, chairman of the Kembhill Park Flood Prevention and Resilience Group, and contained the signatures of around 200 residents. 

It was received by Co-Leader Cllr Martin Kitts-Hayes, accompanied by West Garioch Cllrs Allison Grant, Sheena Lonchay and Patricia Oddie.

Mr Ledingham told the councillors of the challenges residents have been experiencing as they continue to recover from the floods.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Kitts-Hayes said: “Aberdeenshire Council is already very aware of the understandable concerns of the residents of communities that were flooded as a result of the exceptional weather event at the turn of the year, including Kemnay.

“There have been meetings with local residents since the floods and the Garioch Flood Recovery Plan includes a section highlighting community concerns. Discussions are ongoing with partner agencies, particularly SEPA, about how best to address these.
 
“In the meantime, Aberdeenshire Council and its partners will continue to engage with all our communities, including Kemnay. This may include the potential for temporary barriers that could be deployed by residents, and we will continue our discussions with local groups to increase awareness and local resilience.”