Community still ‘divided’ by bridge closure two years on from Storm Babet

A community in Aberdeenshire is still “divided” two years after Storm Babet forced the closure of a key bridge which is yet to reopen, a Conservative MSP has said.

Alexander Burnett, the MSP for Aberdeenshire West, said the Scottish Government is failing to recognise the region’s infrastructure needs due to an “out of date” funding formula.

Storm Babet tore through the country in October 2023, causing major floods, damaging trees and infrastructure, and even taking a number of lives.

Many areas in Aberdeenshire have required extensive repair work.

Aboyne, an Aberdeenshire village on the edge of the Highlands, saw its main bridge that joined two sides of the village shut.

Aboyne Bridge was closed after the storm caused concrete damage which is said to have extended “far more than is visible on the surface”.

Mr Burnett claims there are more than 60 bridges that are closed or at risk of closure by 2030 in Aberdeenshire.

He says it would cost an estimated £5.1 million every year for two decades to fix the backlog.

The proposed reopening of Aboyne Bridge is now expected to be in 2027 but Mr Burnett says this is subject to funding.

He said: “They’ve given a preliminary date for it to reopen but that’s obviously subject to the works and subject to the funding, so whilst they’ve thrown this date out there it’s far from confirmed, which is the main worry at the moment.”

It previously took minutes to get from one side of the town to the other using the bridge but commuters must now head to the next nearest crossing, several miles away at Dinnet.

“You’re a 40-minute round trip now,” Mr Burnett said.

“You’ve got volunteer firemen who live on one side, they’ve been in touch and (their time in) getting across is delayed.

“You’ve got the sawmills, you’ve got the forestry operations and the big sawmill on the far side of the river from Aboyne.”

Concerns have also been raised over the impact of sudden heavy vehicle usage on Dinnet bridge, which was reduced to one way traffic in June 2024 to protect the ageing structure.

Mr Burnett added: “If you’re putting all the traffic and all the lorries over Dinnet bridge, it’s only going to be a matter of time before that bridge gets closed.

“That’s the next concern. I think people just don’t understand until it happens, then a bridge closes, communities are divided, literally, on either side.”

The Conservative MSP said problems with bridge closures stretch back years, saying: “Park Bridge (near Drumoak) closed so that’s when it kicked off, the effects of when you divide a community.

“People couldn’t get to school or nurseries if you lived on one side, parents having to make different decisions for schools and people working as well.”

Mr Burnett said the issue is due to a lack of funding in Aberdeenshire. The council recently agreed to implement a 10% council tax increase to address the funding deficit.

Another issue, according to Mr Burnett, is that Aberdeenshire has more bridges and roads per capita due to the council area being so large.

There are 1,800 bridges in the region – 1,311 carrying a public road, which is an average of a bridge every 2.7 miles of road.

Mr Burnett said: “We just have all the problems of the geographical nature of a big local authority and none of that is being recognised by the Scottish Government.

“For rural councils the funding formula is out of date. It is quite clearly out of date for how the economy has changed in the north-east and it also fails to reflect the rurality and geographical expanse that is Aberdeenshire.

“Any government should be taking these factors into consideration, they should be using up to date figures in terms of looking at what areas need.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government has made a record £15.1 billion available for 2025-26, a real-terms increase of 5.5% compared with last year. This includes funding of £627.7 million to Aberdeenshire Council this year – an increase of £42 million, or 7.2%.

“Local authorities are independent bodies and it is for them to decide how to manage their budgets and infrastructure based on local needs and priorities.”

On Aboyne Bridge, Aberdeenshire Council said: “Various testing at Aboyne has now been completed including a ground penetrating radar scan of the main span deck and further investigations of the hinge on the main span and the southern flood arches.”

The anticipated programme timeline for works is now between May 2026 and January 2027, subject to available funding.