Hundreds of homes across Scotland are to get better protection from flooding with the award of almost £40 million Scottish Government funding.

Environment and Climate Change Minister Paul Wheelhouse has announced the Scottish Government has reached agreement with Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) to cover 80 per cent of the total cost of two major new flood protection schemes – one in Brechin and one in Selkirk.

The Scottish Government is contributing more than £38.5 million to the projects via the flooding component of the General Capital Grant. The projects have already been granted planning permission, meaning work can get underway later this year.

In addition, the Scottish Government is separately contributing £500,000 towards the cost of fixing damage cause by severe tides and flooding in Dumfries and Galloway earlier this year. The one-off award will help pay for repairs to river banks, sea walls and coastal paths.

Environment and Climate Change Minister Paul Wheelhouse said:

“Communities living under threat of flooding know only too well the devastating effects it can have – as recently seen in Dumfries and Galloway. That is why flooding remains a priority for the Scottish Government which continues to invest in measures to mitigate the impact of flooding and reduce the risk of it happening in the first place.”

“I am delighted to confirm more than £38.5 million Scottish Government funding for new flood protection schemes in Brechin and Selkirk – a significant investment which will allow the councils involved to start the tendering process and bring these schemes to fruition.”

The flooding component of the General Capital Grant is not the only resource available to local authorities for flood protection work. Local authorities are free to allocate additional resources to flooding from within the overall funding provided to them by the Scottish Government and from within their own resources.

The Scottish Government’s new Flood Risk Management Planning Process is intended to help better target efforts to plan and invest in mitigating potential flooding impacts in vulnerable areas in the future.

Details of the funding awards announced today from the Flooding Component of the General Capital Grant are as follows:

Brechin Flood Protection Scheme (Angus Council – estimated total cost £16,383,000) Consisting of direct defences, flood embankments and flood walls, drainage system upgrades and three submerged pump stations, this scheme will provide protection for approximately 150 properties in the area. Construction is due to commence in late 2014 and the scheme will be the single largest civil engineering project in Angus.

Selkirk Flood Protection Scheme (Scottish Borders Council – estimated total cost £31,767,058) This scheme will protect around 595 properties against flood events from the Ettrick and Yarrow Waters, the Philiphaugh Mill Lade, the Long Philip Burn and the Shaw Burn. Construction is due to get underway in autumn 2014 and is scheduled to conclude in late 2016.

The schemes were only two out of seven applications by local authorities to win funding under the most recent round of flood protection scheme funding between 12 December 2013 and 21 January 2014.

Under the flood protection scheme funding arrangement agreed with COSLA, 80 per cent of the total cost of approved projects is funded by the Scottish Government, with the remaining 20 per cent funded at local authority level. Covering 80 per cent of the cost of both the Brechin and Selkirk projects will total £38,520,046.

The additional £500,000 one-off funding for flood repairs in Dumfries and Galloway will be match-funded by Dumfries and Galloway Council.