04 March 2020

King Edward drop-in engagement session

Aberdeenshire Council is hosting a drop-in engagement session for communities affected by the closure of flood-damaged bridges in the King Edward area.

The event is being held on Monday, March 9 from 3.30pm-7.30pm in the King Edward Community Hall.

Council officers will be on hand to engage directly with those residents and businesses affected by the loss of the bridges.

They will also provide detail on the current bridge works prioritisation methodology and how that has feed in to developing the current 10-year bridge repair programme.

A key purpose of the session is to provide an opportunity for participants to share their experiences with officers, whether that is detailed information on the personal impacts of the closures, more general views on the prioritisation of the bridge replacements or ideas on alternative funding opportunities. 

A brief questionnaire will be available on the day to ensure that their thoughts and ideas can be recorded.  

Ahead of the engagement event, Philip McKay, Head of Roads, Waste and Landscape Services, said: “With almost 1,400 bridges to manage across Aberdeenshire, it is important that investment of the available budget is prioritised appropriately to ensure the road network can support the needs of the greatest number of users.

“Unfortunately, the current 10-year prioritised bridge works programme does not included replacement of these damaged bridges.

“However, we are keen to understand the local impacts in more detail, to ensure that the prioritisation methodology reflects the current situation correctly.  We are also open to hearing alternative options from the community, particularly any potential collaborative approaches to address the future of these affected bridges.

“We are here to listen to the community and this drop-in event will give those directly affected the opportunity to provide comment and share their ideas with us.”