Brechin beyond the flood

New housing officer

Leanne Archer 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, Leanne will be happy to help you.

Email Leanne on mailto:BrechinMontroseCHT@angus.gov.uk, or call ACCESSLine on 03452 777778.

Rehousing

Since the storm, the dedicated Housing Recovery Team has helped around 310 households. They gave information, advice, and practical support on issues caused by the storm.

57 of Angus Council's ground floor tenancies were severely damaged by the flooding. The team spoke to residents about their housing needs, preferences, and options. This helped them match people to properties on a like-for-like basis.

All council tenants, along with some private tenants and owner occupiers who were living in the severely damaged properties, have now been rehoused.

Some have been permanently rehoused, and some temporarily, depending on their circumstances.

Ongoing work

The majority of the 57 council-owned flood damaged properties have been cleared of flood damaged items.

Contractors have been carrying out surveys ahead of work to strip out and dry out the flood damaged properties. This work is being managed by our insurance company.

We expect these works to start by the end of February.

However, the contractors will be on site before this to set up three compound areas within health and safety guidelines.

• Compound one will be in the carpark area behind 61-83 River Street
• Compound two will be in the carpark at block 1-24 Nursery Park
• Compound three will be in the carpark area behind 117-121 River Street

Dehumidifiers

Dehumidifiers have been delivered to council flats situated above the ground floor flooded properties.

Technical inspections are also being carried out to look at any damage to these properties as a result of the flooded ground floor properties.

What's happening next?

We are in the process of appointing a consultant to help us consider our options for the future of the housing stock affected by the flooding.

We'll also look at the housing needs in the area and how that will affect decisions about reinstating or replacing our housing stock.

As part of this work, we will speak to tenants who were displaced and those still living in the flood zone area. We're hoping to start this work by the middle of March.

We responded to 82 enquiries from Angus businesses looking for help and support as a result of the damage done by Storm Babet.

We provided £1000 emergency grant funding to 20 businesses in Brechin. This helped them cover cashflow, pay for clean-up, and restore trade.

We contributed £26,000 to repair the electrical substation at Matrix Industrial Site. This helped cover generator costs and ensured businesses at the site could continue to operate.

We administered the Scottish Government Storm Babet Recovery Grant of £3000 to 25 businesses in Brechin, supporting the start of their business recovery.

Eastmill Caravan Park

Eastmill Caravan Park was significantly damaged by flooding. As a result, 24 static caravan owners lost their properties. But these static homeowners have lost more than just their caravans. They were regular visitors to Brechin, who made friends in, and contributed to, the local community.

We worked with the caravan park owners and Binn Group to arrange a discounted rate for residents to safely dispose of their damaged caravans. We were able to provide 80% of the funding to static caravan owners to cover the cost of disposal.

Working in partnership

We are continuing to work with Business Gateway who have supported many businesses through the start of the recovery phase. Any business looking for support can call 01382 848 275 and a business advisor will be happy to help.

We are also working with Scottish Flood Forum who are supporting businesses with flood insurance enquires. Businesses can get in touch with the team on 0131 563 9392.

Our Economic Development team are here to support businesses. Email Invest@angus.gov.uk or call ACCESSLine on 03452 777 778.

Next Steps

We are working with our business support partners to develop longer term plans to support business recovery and resilience. We’ll share more information shortly.