Go-ahead for Rothes houses

Moray councillors have given the go-ahead for replacements for two homes which will be demolished to make way for a flood alleviation scheme in Rothes.

The new houses will be built next to one another on the site of a block of lock-up garages in the town’s Land Street.

They will replace two dwellings in Burnside Street which will be lost to the £21million flood scheme, work on which is expected to get under way later this year.

Rothes has suffered severe flooding on a number of occasions in recent years, most notably in November 2002.

The planning applications for the replacement houses attracted several objections from neighbouring householders on the grounds of scale, loss of amenity and parking issues.

However, members of the council’s environmental services committee unanimously approved both applications.

The committee was told that of the six lock-ups, five were vacant and the other was used for storage by the local horticultural society.