Brechin River Street Regeneration

On Wednesday 23 September 2026, at a special meeting of Angus Council, councillors decided to instruct officers to progress option 3B (iii) from the Options Appraisal paper.

This option is to selectively demolish existing building in the area defined in option (iii) and return it to an open space, and to increase the height of the current flood protection scheme.

The area option (iii) covers all residential properties within the BRSA where water entered the building during Storm Babet, and the Council owns most of the properties in the block. It also includes two traditionally constructed blocks south of River Street where water entered the buildings, together with the adjacent garages.

You can find more detail in the papers from that meeting here: Brechin Options Appraisal Angus Council (Special)

We understand that this decision may have a significant effect on you and cause considerable worry. We want to give you as much information as possible, as soon as possible and we will continue to support you throughout the process.

We will providing more detailed information on next steps in the coming days, but the most important thing to understand is that no one will be made homeless by this decision. Our housing officers will support anyone into their next home, whether they are council tenants, private tenants or homeowners.

Your views remain essential to shaping the future of the area.

Residents will continue to be updated through:

👥 Drop-ins will continue every Thursday mornings until the end of October in JARS.

ommunity meeting will be held at JARS on 1 October at 6.30pm.

🌐 This Brechin Beyond the Flood project webpage.

📩 Direct communication with affected households.

In this short film Matt Roberts, a Civil Engineer who is Service Leader for Roads and Infrastructure, explains why dredging isn't the way to go to improve flood protection in Brechin.

We will no longer be at The Crickety on a Thursday morning but any support you need will still available as we will be out and about in the coming weeks in Brechin, planning and continuing to support the community.

You can also continue to email us with any queries or requests to meet up for support and we can arrange a time: CommunityResilience@angus.gov.uk.

We will continue to keep you up to date.

Brechin Newsletter February 2026

Housing

BRSA – Phase 3 Housing Information Sessions

We’d like to share some of the work we’ve been doing on understanding the challenges and possibilities of the council-owned houses in this area. This includes the practical difficulties of remodelling or rebuilding and the reasons that people can’t return to these properties.

We want everyone in the community, council tenants, private tenants and homeowners to be able to see the challenges and possibilities for the future of the area.

We’ll be sharing work which will go to the Housing Committee on 30 March, when elected members will be asked to decide on the next steps.

These information sessions will give you the opportunity to understand the issues, speak directly with Housing and Communities staff, and ask any questions you may have. We would really like as many of the community to attend as possible because the issues are complex and the next stage is really important.

Upcoming Sessions

• Monday 23 February 6pm – 8pm JARS
• Thursday 26 February 9:30am – 12pm The Crickety
• Thursday 26 February 2pm – 6pm JARS

Please try to attend one of these sessions if you can.

Infrastructure

Recent Flooding Concerns

In the second wettest January since records began, on Thursday 22 January, Angus had an Amber weather warning for rain. The river South Esk recently rose to a high level, which led to some concerns for another flooding event in the area.

Flooding early warning

The local resilience partnership met, with Brechin very much on the agenda. From data received from its river gauges, SEPA predicted that the river would peak at about 3.1 metres around 5:00pm on Thursday 22 January, and was confident that the 3.8 metre flood defences would not be breached. The river in fact reached 3.2 metres and peaked earlier, at around 3:30pm. However, these differences are normal, and it shows that the forecasting system is reliable for future warnings.

Inch Park railings

One casualty of the raised water levels were the new railings installed at the Inch. These railings replaced the old stone wall so that water can safely flow into the floodplain in front of the flood defence embankment. These worked exactly as designed, and although they now need to be replaced, it’s far cheaper and easier than replacing a stone wall which may also have caused a wave as it collapsed against the water pressure, as has happened in the past.

Leak on River Street flood wall

A small leak was seen in one section of the concrete flood wall on River Street. The wall is built in separate sections so it can expand and contract with changes in temperature. Each section has seals between the joints, plus an extra seal on the outside. When the river is high, some water can be pushed through these joints, but this does not weaken the wall. The outer sealant does wear out over time because it is exposed to the weather, and it is likely that this section now needs to be renewed.

Uplift to the flood protection scheme - Public Engagement Survey Results

Thank you to everyone who attended the two public engagement sessions and completed the online survey. Your views are helping to guide this process to its final design.

We have reviewed all feedback and considered the issues and suggestions raised. From this we have identified the options that will progress to the developed design stage. These are:

• The Inch bund: most respondents preferred an offset wall
• River Street: most respondents selected the glass panels
• East Mill caravan park: most respondents supported the concrete wall

Work will now begin on further developing the design for each of these elements of the uplift.

Thank you again to everyone who took part. Your contributions have played an important role in shaping the final design.

Communities

Brechin Community Group Meetings

These groups are open to all, and you will be made most welcome. Thank you to everyone who attended February’s group meetings.

• Brechin Community Resilience Group - Monday 9 March 6:30pm Glebe Park – the Blue Cabin

This meeting is for residents to finalise the resilience plan for the locality, review the recent walk around and assess feedback from Scottish Flood Forum. We will also discuss what equipment will be purchased using the Resilience Fund. All welcome.

• Brechin Residents Group – Speak Up Monday 2 March 6.30pm JARS, Victoria Park

The next meeting will focus on what ideas and concerns the group have for the local area. We will also discuss the housing options consultation and look at the potential community art project. We will hopefully also have a chat with the local police officer.

• Brechin Community Drop In – Every Thursday 9.30 -12 noon, The Crickety

The drop-in continues on a weekly basis so pop along for a cuppy if you need a chat, digital support, assistance with anything or have any questions.

With heavy rainfall leading to high river levels, Sepa has issued 27 flood warnings across Scotland, including five in Angus.

This will result in localised flooding and unfortunately some individual properties may be affected.

Sepa has advised that the flood protection scheme at Brechin is working as intended, including its pumps and the defences at River Street are NOT expected to overtop. We do understand that there are concerns in the Brechin area and, along with Sepa, we are continuing to monitor the river levels.

We also continue to monitor the impact of this current spell of bad weather and is working closely with partners to this end, to ensure any response and support is available and provided as required.

If you have any concerns, you can contact us via our website or on 03452 777 778

We will share any updates, advice and information on our website and social media channels.

Here is a round up of the next actions coming up in the New Year.

Community Resilience

The next Brechin Community Resilience Meeting is on Tuesday 20 January at 6.30pm at The Crickety , everyone is welcome to come along. The group is exploring possible resilience hubs in Brechin and are also working on a resilience plan for the locality supported by Angus Council and Scottish Flood Forum. Some of the group attended the Angus Community Resilience Forum Practical Exercise in Forfar and got the opportunity to meet and chat to other resilience groups in Angus, which has given them ideas for future actions.

Community Action

The next Brechin Speak Up residents' meeting is on Monday 26 January 2026 at 6,30pm at JARS, Victoria Park. The group have been working with Angus Council to identify , suggest and work towards improvements in the area. Everyone is welcome to come along.

Brechin Flood Defence Options Survey

The Brechin Flood Defence Options Survey continues until Friday 16 January 2026. Thanks to everyone who has come al ong to the drop in sessions and has completed the survey so far. Please click on the link to take you to the Engage Angus page for full details -

https://engage.angus.gov.uk/brechin

The link below will take you directly to the survey -

Brechin Flood Defence Options | Engage Angus

If anyone would like any support in completing or has any questions, please pop into The Community Drop in on Thursdays from 9.30 – 12 noon.

We hope you all have a lovely Christmas and New Year and thanks for all your contributions this year into various engagement sessions, drop ins, surveys and community groups.

I look forward to working with you all in 2026.

Derek Lucas from Infrastructure will be at the community drop-in at The Crickety on Thursday 27 November at 11am

He’ll be giving an update about the face-to-face public engagement which is coming up soon.

This is where we will be presenting options for the uplift to the existing flood defences. The options will be split into three areas, The Inch, River Street and East Mill Caravan Park.

Derek will be available for a short time to take any questions on the engagement process. It doesn’t start until December, but this session will help to give you information about what to expect.

Look forward to seeing you then.

The next residents – Brechin Speak Up Meeting is on Monday 24^th November at 6.30pm at JARS, Brechin Community Hub, Victoria Park, Nursery Lane.

Derek Lucas from Infrastructure will be giving an update about the face-to-face public engagement which is coming up soon.

This is where we will be presenting options for the uplift to the existing flood defences. The options will be split into three areas, The Inch, River Street and East Mill Caravan Park.

Derek will be available for a short time to take any questions on the engagement process. It doesn’t start until December, but this session will help to give you information about what to expect.

Claire Greenhill, Community Housing Manager is also coming along to give an update on the recent housing committee report.

Look forward to seeing you all then.

The next meeting of the Brechin Community Resilience group will be held at The Crickety on Tuesday 18 November at 6:30pm. Everyone is welcome and remember, it's not just about flooding - storms, snow and ice can affect everyone across the town and having a local resilience group can really make a difference during severe weather, so come along and see how you can get involved.