October 2025 Update

• Over 50 water butts have been supplied in the village, with only a couple still to be fitted. We are grateful to Go Golspie for making available some of the Renantis (Kilbraur) funding for this initiative. Installing a water butt can help and if everyone did this in the village, this would help the existing drainage system to cope! Please see WHAT CAN I DO? for more information. 
• Negotiations with Tulloch Homes for repair of the land drains to the south of the railway line above Sibell Road are underway. This area is zoned for housing and has never been developed since the land was purchased by Tulloch Homes. This overlaps with the place plan and the need for local affordable housing.
• Network Rail have been put in touch with local farmer/landowners to scope the option of a combined drainage ditch/cycle & foot path along the north side of the railway through the village as detailed in the local place plan. This would ease flooding from the hill onto the railway line and into private gardens.
• Highland Council have recently cleared the street drains in the village, and we are pressing the Roads Department to commit to a regular programme of maintenance and repair of these drains. This would considerably help storm drains from being overwhelmed.
• The 2 council owned water outfalls (Chemist Lane & helipad) damaged during Storm Babet in October 2023 still have not been repaired. The chemist lane outfall work was put out to tender, but no contractor came forward.
• A small amount of funding has been identified from the Active Travel council budget to re-surface the promenade, but it will be to a lower standard than below the chemist lane, as the upper section is not an adopted road (although still owned by Highland Council).
• Highland Council Flood Risk Management Team is being very supportive in progressing the project to install a groyne alongside the failing pier along side CoastSnap citizen science technology to monitor coastal changes. Environmental consultants Affric Ltd have been engaged to support the application for marine licensing. The cost for the whole project is estimated at £800k, of which £350k is already secured (£105k Coastal Communities Adaptation Fund, £250k Gordonbush windfarm extension community benefit funds agreed in an MOU in 2021). So a further £550k will be required, although we are hoping to reduce substantially the overall cost by use of local supplies and contractors.
• Highland Council preferred flood scheme of raising seawall by 90cm is still in the pool for £1.5M Scottish Government, Cycle 2 capital grant funding. However, the total spend on cycle 1 schemes is still not final, so the amount that can be spent in cycle 2 is not known. A decision was expected in spring this year, but has now been delayed until spring 2026, when the Scottish elections will take place. The bank & berm proposal commissioned by Go Golspie will achieve the same effect of raising the seawall but in a more aethetically pleasing construction and estimated to cost £5M with little or no ongoing maintenance. The most environmentally acceptable option recommended by Affric Ltd is a series of groynes with beach re-charge, estimated to cost £7M & would require periodic import of sand. This latter might be available from Ardesier port once the requisite licences and permissions are obtained.