Argyll and Bute was battered by severe weather over the weekend, with tidal surges causing some flooding in coastal towns

During the storms the council deployed a huge amount of resources, with over 80 Roads and Amenity staff (amounting to over 650 man hours)  out over the weekend as well as 30 vehicles helping keep the road network safe and, where possible, passable..

Over 2000 sandbags were also made available in strategic locations around Argyll and Bute’s coastal towns for public use.

The amount of physical damage to the road network has not been severe. 

Policy Lead for Customer Support, Councillor Donald Kelly said, ‘’Council workers put in a great effort over the weekend keeping our road network open in what were very challenging conditions

We were well prepared, with the right resources ready in the right places. The feedback I have received from the public has been overwhelmingly positive

The clean-up operation is underway, with the main focus being on public safety – making sure the road network is fully operational. Beyond that, the need to tidy up the general debris is something our guys are aware of and will be addressing in due course, dependant on the weather.

With more bad weather forecast, there’s little point in a mass clear up just now as we may have to do it again next week.’’

The C18, Southend Road was damaged quite severally, with large amounts of sand deposited on the road, and remains closed. As soon as the road is made safe, single way working will be introduced to make the road passable. There is currently access from either end, so nobody is cut off. Permanent repairs may take several weeks and will be dependent on the weather and the effect of high tides.

Sections of the sea wall on Alexandra Parade, Dunoon, washed away, damaging railings and the footpath. The council is currently carrying out an assessment of the damage and it is hoped that the repair will be a fairly straightforward one.

In Helensburgh, some of the material protecting the Henry Bell monument was washed away but council staff were on hand to add material and sandbag the plinth above the foundation.

There has been a fair amount of debris left on along many sections of the coast and a clean up plan is being put together, which will prioritise public safety.

The seaweed deposited along our coastal roads will be sent to landfill. This is because it is unable to be recycled as it is contaminated with other debris