Scottish Government to invest £226k in three Moray projects as part of Coastal Change Adaptation Programme

THE SCOTTISH Government is funding three projects in Moray that address coastal change.

‘Kingston Recharge’, ‘Monitoring Moray Coast’ and ‘Near-Real Time Coastal Resilience Modelling’ are three of 10 projects across Scotland that have secured a share of more than £1million from the Coastal Change Adaptation Programme.

Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition Màiri McAllan confirmed the funding is part of £12 million committed for coastal change adaptation during the course of the current Scottish Parliament.

She explained: “The climate emergency is not a distant threat - we are already seeing an increased impact on coastal communities due to adverse weather and rising sea levels. We need to start adapting our coasts to better respond to sea level rise and reduce the risks associated with coastal erosion. Local authorities are seizing the opportunity to do this essential work with their communities as key partners.”

Due to be delivered in 2024-25, the projects cover eight local authority areas and include plans to enhance natural defences to reduce the rate of erosion and improve protection from flooding.

Three Moray projects have secured a share of £226,000. One will enhance natural defences in Kingston to reduce the rate of erosion and improve protection from flooding. Moray Council’s Near-Real Time Coastal Resilience Modelling project will enable long-term trends, the impact of individual storms, and future sea level rise and storm conditions to be anticipated. And the Monitoring Moray Coast project will involve public photographing of the Moray coastline to capture timeline change.

Moray MSP Richard Lochhead said: “Coastal erosion has been a serious concern for people in Kingston and communities along the Moray coast for some time. This funding will improve our understanding of how our coastline is changing and how we can adapt.”

The funding will also be used to support engagement with local people, businesses and infrastructure owners on the process for developing coastal change adaptation plans, as well as improvements to the monitoring of coastlines.

Ms McAllan said: “Case studies will be an important source of knowledge for all areas in Scotland affected by coastal change and will help to inform future projects.

“We are already bringing forward measures to help protect homes, the natural environment and agriculture from climate change. And we’re providing £150 million of extra funding, on top of our annual £42m funding, for flood risk management over the course of this Parliament.

“We will continue to work with our local authority partners, communities and businesses to adapt our coastlines to climate change.”