Brechin beyond the flood

Dehumidifier Update

Our specialist contractors have completed their assessment of the ground floor properties and have advised us that the properties are dry, and the buildings are stabilised. Therefore, the contractor has begun removing the dehumidifiers from the upper floor properties. If you have not yet had your dehumidifier removed the contractor will be in touch with you shortly to arrange for its removal.

There will be a final payment of £28 paid the week of the 12 August to all residents.

Should you have any questions, please contact Sharon Bell on 07824350883 or Bells1@angus.gov.uk

Vandalism

Following concerns from residents about increased levels of vandalism and break-ins at the empty properties within the area, we have arranged for the Community Safety Wardens and the Police to carry out regular patrols in the surrounding area.

If you notice anyone carrying out any acts of vandalism, please contact the Police by calling 101. If you come across any damage, please contact Angus Council by calling customer services on 03452 777 778 so that we can ensure buildings are secured and the area is cleaned up.

Should you have any questions please contact Sharon Bell on 07824350883 or Bells1@angus.gov.uk

Housing Options Appraisal

Housing service staff are meeting with our housing consultants 27 August to receive initial findings from the options appraisal, including the feedback from the community and residents’ engagement. Following that meeting, the consultants will prepare their final report and a consultative draft will be provided to officers in the final week of September. Following internal consultation, the final report will be completed by mid-October with a view to going to committee in November.

Update on Bridge of Dun

It has been confirmed that in addition to the road collapse, there has also been major structural damage to the foundations of the Bridge of Dun during Storm Babet. Therefore, this needs significant attention as part of the rebuild.

As a Grade A listed bridge, we are preserving the original stonework, so that the bridge will look the same as it always has once rebuilt.

Current progress:

• all the unstable parts have been carefully taken down, cleaned and sorted ready to be rebuilt.
• we’ve managed to preserve the south face of the bridge, and this is currently safely propped.

Next steps:

A third-party engineering consultancy is handling the design. This means we can proceed with the Listed Building Consent Application shortly.

Detailed ground investigations have identified poor sub-surface conditions, but we need further ground investigations by specialist contractors to advise on a potential design for ground improvement.

Due to the need for these additional investigations, we are unable to give a clear timeline for when all the work will be complete. However, we will share this information with you as soon as we can.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work on this complex project.

Brechin Bridge

The cutwater repair to Brechin bridge is scheduled to commence during the week of 19 August, and residents should note that there may be disruption on the first and last day of this repair work. This requires a floating platform which will need to be lowered down to the side of the bridge, and similarly it will need to be removed once the work has been completed.

The clearance of two large fallen trees followed by vegetation management on the south bank of the River Esk across from River Street, are programmed to begin during the week of the 26 August.

Drop in

The Brechin Community Drop In continues to run every Thursday from 9:30am to 12 noon at The Crickety.

Pop in for a cup of tea, a chat, or advice on issues relating to the impact of the storm, such as:

• money and benefits
• future flood protection
• insurance
• grants and funding: advice and help with applications
• emails and form-filling
• housing
• mental health and wellbeing
• and anything else you feel you need help with

You can also email us at Communityresilience@angus.gov.uk

Contacts and links

• Local Vibrant Communities staff: Communityresilience@angus.gov.uk.
• Urgent requests: Angus Council’s Emergency Centre.
• Local updates will be posted on Facebook and Engage Angus.
• Wider information can be found on our Storm Recovery Website.
• Financial support and advice pages on the Angus Council website.

If you have any other issues or concerns you would like to raise, please contact us via the emergency centre email EmergencyCentre@angus.gov.uk.

Are You OK?

Developed by the Angus Mental Health & Wellbeing Network, the Are You OK? campaign is running across Angus and provides mental health, wellbeing, suicide prevention and crisis support links. These can be used by individuals themselves, or to support those around them.

For more information visit: Mental health, wellbeing, suicide prevention and crisis support links.

As you can see from the photos below, it is not a minor repair to fix the Bridge of Dun after it was damaged during Storm Babet. The collapse was due to foundation failure; therefore, this needs significant attention as part of the rebuild. As a Grade A listed bridge, we are preserving the original stonework, meaning the bridge will look the same when rebuilt.

Current progress

• All of the unstable parts have been carefully taken down, cleaned and sorted ready to be rebuilt.
• We’ve managed to preserve the south face of the bridge and this is currently safely propped.

Next steps

A third -party engineering consultancy is handling the design. This means we can proceed with the Listed Building Consent Application shortly.

Detailed ground investigations have identified poor sub surface conditions but we need further ground investigations by specialist contractors to advise on a potential design for ground improvement.

Due to the need for these additional investigations, we are unable to give a clear timeline for when all the work will be complete. However, we will share this information with you as soon as we can.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work on this complex project.

Angus has experienced a recent extended period of dry weather, so the water table is low, and the weather warning is at the yellow stage, which is for medium impact. The Brechin Flood Scheme will provide the same protection as it has done in previous years, being effective in all prior yellow rain warnings since its completion.

SEPA has confirmed that the risk of surface and river flooding is low. There may be some localised flooding and drivers in particular should take extra care.

There is advice on how to protect individual properties on the Scottish Flood Protection website.

The council, along with local resilience partners, stands ready to take any action necessary to support and protect our citizens.

Sources of support can be found on the Angus Council website.

Or email communityresilience@angus.gov.uk

Overview

While activity may not be as visible as in months past, please be assured that a lot of work continues in the background to support a sustainable future for Brechin and its environs.

We are currently waiting for the final analysis of the flood prevention engineering report, and this will provide us with the options available to us and the associated costs. An Options Appraisal is also under way for the Council’s housing stock, once these reports are complete, which we hope will be around the end of the summer, we will then hold a programme of information events to share the findings and together with the community develop the engagement activity for the future options within the wider ambition for Brechin. Some of this will be dependent on the outcomes of the housing options work.

This work will be supported by the place framework which has recently been approved at Angus Council committee, with Brechin, along with Montrose, selected as the first towns to benefit from this approach. You can read the report here: A Framework Approach to Place Based Working

The next steps will include a community-based workshop, and other ongoing engagement as part of the place-based approach. We aim to hold the first one at the end of summer/early autumn, which will start to explore the options coming forward. This will be facilitated by Angus Council and Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) who will be supporting all engagement for the next year. SCDC are the lead body for community development in Scotland. They have a vision of an active, inclusive and just Scotland where our communities are strong, equitable and sustainable.

Health and Wellbeing

We recognise that many residents and former residents of Brechin and its environs are still traumatised by the events of Storm Babet. The Brechin Community Drop In continues to run every Thursday from 9:30am to 12 noon at The Crickety.

Pop in for a cup of tea, a chat, or advice on issues relating to the impact of the storm, such as:

• money and benefits

• future flood protection

• insurance

• grants and funding: advice and help with applications

• emails and form-filling

• housing

• mental health and wellbeing

• and anything else you feel you need help with

You can also email us at Communityresilience@angus.gov.uk

Are You OK?

Developed by the Angus Mental Health & Wellbeing Network, the Are You Ok? campaign is running across Angus and provides mental health, wellbeing, suicide prevention and crisis support links – these can be used by individuals themselves, or to support those around them.

For more information visit:

Mental health, wellbeing, suicide prevention and crisis support links

Housing

We understand that many of you will still have questions about housing and as previously stated, we are actively looking at options for the area. This is a very complex process, involving detailed analysis of flood patterns, the likely impact of climate change increasing in the future and housing supply and demand across Angus and of course, the relative costs. All the options need to be thoroughly explored so this does take some time.

The community engagement phase of this options appraisal work has now been completed. There were over 130 responses to the survey, which included further thoughts and aspirations of local residents which were gathered during face-to-face appointments in early June.

All of the results are currently being analysed by the consultants, Arneil Johnston and we will confirm when this has been completed. The information from this report will form part of the engagement sessions with the community.

Remember, if you have any queries about housing, please email Sharon on BrechinMontroseCHT@angus.gov.uk, or call 07824 350883.

Waste Management

We continue to work on the stripping out of the ground floor properties and are continuing a general clean-up of the area. Remember that you can book any special uplifts if required from our website: Special Uplifts.

Infrastructure

Roads

As many of you will have witnessed, we continue our extensive programme of road repairs which has significantly improved the state of the roads. We would like to thank residents for their continued patience around diversions and temporary traffic lights required to allow for repairs to be completed.

Bridge of Dun

Work to the Grade A listed Bridge of Dun has progressed as we now have completed the ground investigations which inform the structural repairs required. We have carefully removed the damaged sections of the bridge and working with partner agencies, we have now completed the detailed designs required to restore the bridge. These have been submitted for a Listed Building Consent Application which is required before work can commence.

We fully recognise the historic importance of the Bridge of Dun and have always sought to re-construct the damaged bridge to replicate the original structure, using as much of the original stone as possible.

We are pleased to report that we have managed to preserve the stone face of the bridge so that once repairs completed, the bridge will look as it has always done. However, the internal structure of the bridge, which was completed in 1787, will be significantly strengthened.

Flood defences

Angus Council has commissioned JBA Consulting to undertake a study of the flood defences following the impacts of Storm Babet. The study aims to cover the following key areas:

• Evaluating the current state of our flood defences.
• Modelling of the flow of the River South Esk through Brechin during Storm Babet.
• Determining the current level of protection provided by the defences, including the likelihood of them being overtopped in the future.
• Identifying and assessing measures to reduce flood risk and enhance resilience against flooding from the South Esk.

An inspection has confirmed that the Flood Protection Scheme (FPS) infrastructure is in good condition, and we are confident that it provides the same protection as it did pre-Storm Babet. However, due to the growing impact of climate change and the increased frequency of extreme weather events, particularly in 2022 and 2023, this may not be sufficient to guarantee the same degree of flood protection.

We expect the JBA study to be completed within the next two months and it will provide valuable data which will help guide our future actions and decision-making.

It is important to recognise that any major infrastructure projects to significantly upgrade the Flood Prevention Scheme, even if feasible and affordable, would require considerable time for design, planning, procurement, and construction. Therefore, our preparations for this winter will focus on maintaining the current defences in their good condition and reviewing our resilience plans.

This includes the clearance of vegetation and trees along the River South Esk in Brechin which will be completed after the bird nesting season. While it may not have a substantial impact on flood protection, it is considered a good management practice in light of the information we have received so far from the ongoing study.

Angus Community Connector

The Angus Community Connector app helps you find all third sector organisations, services, community groups and social enterprises, in your area of Angus. This app, managed by Voluntary Action Angus, is a great resource for those looking for what is available in their area. We also have links to Angus wide services and national services and a form for adding new services.

To use the online version or find links for the mobile app, visit: https://anguscommunityconnector.org.uk/

Contacts and links

• Local Vibrant Communities staff: Communityresilience@angus.gov.uk.
• Urgent requests: Angus Council’s Emergency Centre.
• Local updates will be posted on X.com and Facebook.
• Wider information can be found on our Storm Recovery Website.
• Financial support and advice pages on the Angus Council website.

If you have any other issues or concerns you would like to raise, please contact us via the emergency centre email EmergencyCentre@angus.gov.uk

New housing officer

Sharon Bell is the new housing officer for Meikle Mill, River Street, Nursery Lane, and Nursery Park.

If you have questions or concerns about your tenancy or the ongoing works in the area, Sharon will be happy to help you.

Email Sharon on BrechinMontroseCHT@angus.gov.uk, or call 07824 350883.

Cleaning and stripping out properties

The work stripping out the ground floor properties is almost complete.

Your housing officer, Sharon, will be carrying out a walkabout during the week beginning Monday 27 May and will organise for the paths and communal closes to be given a clean. This work will hopefully be completed by Friday 14 June.

If you have any queries, please contact Sharon as your opinion is welcomed.

Housing Survey

Arneil Johnston are currently analysing the responses to the survey.

As part of the ongoing engagement, they are holding follow-up face-to-face discussions with survey respondents to find out more about the impact of the flooding and their thoughts for the future of housing.

These are being held at the Crickety on Thursday 30 May and Thursday 6 June, and are by appointment only.

If you completed the survey and said you would be interested in providing more information, you will be contacted to arrange a face-to-face discussion or a follow-up phone call. These will also take place in early June.

Drop in

The Brechin Community Drop In continues to run every Thursday from 9:30am to 12 noon at The Crickety.

Pop in for a cup of tea, a chat, or advice on issues relating to the impact of the storm, such as:

• money and benefits
• future flood protection
• insurance
• grants and funding: advice and help with applications
• emails and form-filling
• housing
• mental health and wellbeing
• and anything else you feel you need help with

You can also email us at Communityresilience@angus.gov.uk

Contacts and links

Local Vibrant Community staff: Communityresilience@angus.gov.uk.

Urgent requests: Angus Council’s Emergency Centre.

Local updates will be posted on X.com and Facebook.

Wider information can be found on our Storm Recovery Website.

Financial support and advice pages on the Angus Council website.

Our picture gallery has images of the recent sweep of hard standing areas around the flood affected streets.

These sweeps and additional road sweeping and gulley emptying are helping to disperse the silt that has accumulated.

Sharon Bell is the new housing officer for Meikle Mill, River Street, Nursery Lane, and Nursery Park.

If you have questions or concerns about your tenancy or the ongoing works in the area, Sharon will be happy to help you.

Email Sharon on BrechinMontroseCHT@angus.gov.uk, or call 07824 350883.

In our previous update, we referred to a survey for people living in the flood-affected areas.

The survey is now live.

If you live or lived in one of the following areas at the time of the flood:

• River Street
• Middleton Park
• Nursery Lane
• Meikle Mill
• Nursery Park
• Mitchell Drive
• Eastmill Road

Please tell us about the effect the flood has had on you and your thoughts about what happens next:

Complete the residents' survey

The Brechin Community Drop In continues to run every Thursday from 9:30am to 12 noon at The Crickety.

Pop in for a cup of tea, a chat, or advice on issues relating to the impact of the storm, such as:

• money and benefits
• future flood protection
• insurance
• grants and funding: advice and help with applications
• emails and form-filling
• housing
• mental health and wellbeing
• and anything else you feel you need help with

You can also email us at communityresilience@angus.gov.uk.

Angus Floodmobile Roadshow

The roadshow ran across Angus from the 18 to 21 March, including a visit to Glebe Park on 19 March.

Flood Mary, Scottish Flood Forum, Angus Council Housing, Angus Council Roads (Flooding), SSEN and Angus Council Communities team were on hand to give support and respond to queries and feedback on flood recovery and protection.

We responded to questions on dealing with insurance claims; getting insurance for the future; mental health and wellbeing and where to get help and support.

It was great to see those who made it along and the feedback has been very positive.

Flood Defences

Works on the wing wall are nearly finished. The majority of the strengthened wall is now complete.

Pointing of the new wall will start soon and then the walkway will be resurfaced. Some of the original coping stones are still to be pulled from the river. We will do this when the river levels have dropped enough for us to see the stones clearly. As the wall is part of the listed structure, we must make every effort to ensure it looks as it was.

The study looking into options for improving the flood resilience, including the current flood defences, is ongoing. We will provide further updates as the study progresses.

Brechin clean up walkround

This took place on 4 April. It covered River Street, Middleton Park, Nursery Lane, Nursery Park and surrounding areas. It identified the following action points:

• Paths and drying areas around Nursery Lane and Nursery Park have been cleaned once again by the Brechin Street sweeper and Swingo.
• Access paths and stairwells will be power washed after the contractors are finished their remedial work. This is due to be completed by end of April.
• Road verges have been cleaned by the large mechanical road sweeper this week and drains and gullies have been cleared out.
• Additional sweeps of the hard standing areas the length of River Street plus additional road sweeping and gulley emptying to help disperse the silt that has accumulated. Our SWAT team will continue to visit on a regular basis to power wash entries and remove any debris left behind from the flooding.
• Grass cutting has also begun. This should help make open areas look more presentable and with the drier weather help compact any silt on these areas.

Anyone with issues around the open space areas should contact ACCESSLine or the local housing team and we will try to prioritise this work.

Housing survey

Housing consultants Arneil Johnston have been working with Angus Council to look at options for housing. They are preparing to engage with residents and the first stage of this will be through a survey that people living in flood-affected areas in Brechin can complete.

The aim of the survey is to find out about the impact the flood has had on them.

The responses will be used to help build an options appraisal. An options appraisal involves measuring several potential solutions against a set of agreed criteria. The aim is to find the solution that best meets everyone’s needs.

It is important that as many residents as possible in the flood affected area complete the survey to ensure that everyone's voices and opinions are heard.

There will be face to face consultation sessions arranged during May once the survey results are obtained and analysed. This will allow residents to provide further details of their experience and expand on their survey responses.

Look out for more information on the survey.

Housing update

All Council owned flats that were impacted by the flood are being stripped out and taken back to the bricks to allow them all to dry out.

We hope to have completed this by the end of April. The next step will be to place dehumidifiers into the ground floor properties. We will sweep and wash the entryways once the work has been completed.

In the meantime, you can email BrechinMontroseCHT@angus.gov.uk or call ACCESSLine on 03452 777 778.

Decorating grant: update from Brechin Buccaneers

We know that many people are still waiting on homes, but many others have moved and may need a little help in decorating rooms and personalising them. Last week Brechin Rotary Club have allocated £20,000 to allow residents in ground floor properties purchase materials to decorate their properties. £100 per household is available for homeowners and tenants to help in making your home more homely. These vouchers can be obtained from the Crickety.

Email brechinbuccaneers@yahoo.co.uk or pop in to drop-in at The Crickety for more details.

Brechin Buccaneers on Facebook.

The Brechin recovery is ongoing and will be for some time. Work is underway in many areas, and this update brings you recent and ongoing information.

The weekly Thursday morning drop-in is still happening at the Crickety. This is for anyone who wants to have a cup of tea, a chat, or seek advice on any issues relating to the storm's impact. For more information email communityresilience@angus.gov.uk.

Housing update

As mentioned in our last update, contractors have been carrying out surveys ahead of work to strip out and dry out the flood-damaged properties. Three compound areas have been set up:

• Compound one in the carpark area behind 61-83 River Street

• Compound two in the carpark at block 1-24 Nursery Park

• Compound three in the carpark area behind 117-121 River Street

Work started on 18 March to strip out and dry out the Angus Council’s flood damaged ground floor properties within:

• Meikle Mill

• Nursery Park

• Nursery Lane

• River Street

Technical inspections to upper floor flats, to assess any damage caused by the ground floor flooded properties, is now complete.

If you have concerns about mould or damp that haven't been addressed email Leanne BrechinMontroseCHT@angus.gov.uk(External link), or call ACCESSLine on 03452 777778.

Future of Brechin Housing Stock

Housing consultant Arneil Johnston has been appointed to help us consider the options for the future housing stock affected by the flooding. We previously mentioned that this work will look at the housing needs in the area and how this will affect decisions about reinstating or replacing our housing stock.

The consultants would like to speak with people who were or are residents of the immediate area impacted by the flood. They will seek to gather lived experiences of the flooding's impact, future options, choices, and aspirations.

We will contact households from the affected area to ask if they would be interested in sharing their experiences with the consultants.

Flood Defence

The rebuilding of the Brechin Bridge wall wing that collapsed during the storm has begun.

Further survey work is being carried out looking at how to improve the flood resilience of River Street and Brechin. This will complement work on future housing and redevelopment options.

Once the report is finalised, Brechin residents will be involved in engagement and consultation before decisions are made.

Many people are asking why there is still a log embedded in the central pier of the Brechin Bridge.

The main issue which required the bridge to be closed was scour damage to the north abutment, which exposed the bridge's foundations and soft material underneath. This has been repaired, which is why we have been able to reopen the bridge safely.

The more visible damage was to the cutwater on the upstream side of the central pier, where the log has been embedded. The cutwater's purpose is to deflect flows and debris safely around the pier and, fortunately, in itself, is not a weight-bearing part of the structure. Therefore, this damage has not prevented the re-opening of the bridge.

The repair work is still outstanding, as we need to form a safe access route across to the pier to carry out the repairs. Repair work will start when lower flow conditions occur.

Clean up of Brechin

We are aware of the concerns around the significant levels of silt that is still present within the grass, roads, paths and drains.

The silt did not fully return to the river bed after the floods, and when dry, it is stuck hard in the grass areas; when it rains, it then turns to mud.

We are doing our best to address this issue. Ongoing cleaning continues, and a site walk-around is scheduled in the upcoming weeks to look for longer-term solutions.