New Cumnock's flood prevention scheme has been officially opened.

The ribbon was cut on the near-£9 million investment on Thursday.

It's hoped the flood protection measures will protect residents and commercial properties near the Afton Water and River Nith from the impact of major flood events such as those experienced in December 2013 and again in December 2015.

Work on the project began back in 2021, but contractors were faced with supply difficulties throughout the process, leading to delays in the project.

We're at New Cumnock as the flood prevention scheme officially opens. Work started on the site in April 2021. The work aims to protect residents and commercial properties near the Afton Water and River Nith from floods like 2015

Posted by Cumnock Chronicle on Thursday, 27 April 2023

However, residents and businesses are now hoping the work will bring an end to years of anxiety over what might happen to their properties during spells of heavy rain.

Local East Ayrshire councillors were joined by representatives from the project's  main contractor, Wills Bros Civil Engineering, as well as the RPS environmental consultancy company.

Nursery school kids also came along on the day, after hearing about the project from site agent Jamie Sime.

Cumnock Chronicle: How the scheme looked in August.How the scheme looked in August. (Image: East Ayrshire Council)

Councillor Neal Ingram, East Ayrshire Council's spokesperson for community safety, says he hopes this scheme can help attract more people to New Cumnock and shows the ambitions of the council to invest money in the area.

He said: "People definitely see how this is going to positively affect New Cumnock.

"This scheme was looking at stopping a repeat of the floods in 2013 and 2015, and hopefully this takes away real anxiety at when it rains and how it could affect the full community.

"The hope is that it's got rid of the fears of flooding and we see more people moving to area and hopefully bringing more businesses here.

"The contractors have done a fantastic job with the issues they faced during this. Not only did they start this during the pandemic, but they faced huge supply issues as well, so they've done a great job to get to this point.

"It shows the commitment from the council to the local area, and hopefully it will be extremely beneficial."

Praising the relationship Wills Bros has had with the local community throughout the work, Mr Sime said: "There's a massive amount of pride about this project coming to an end. Pride for myself and the Wills Bros team.

"It's always nice to see something tangible at the end, and something that will massively benefit the community.

"It looks good, and the feedback from around town has been positive about how it looks and how it opens up foot paths around the town as well.

"New Cumnock is certainly going to be the better for it.

"It's a tight-knit community here. Even working here for a couple of years you get see some familiar faces, so it nice to be able to deliver this for them.

"Everyone in the community has been very welcoming throughout the project."