Wednesday February 18th 2026
Artists impression shows walls and embankments which will be built as part of the Musselburgh Flood Protection Scheme (image from East Lothian Council).
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
A £54m flood protection scheme faces delays after national funding was capped, East Lothian councillors have been told.
The Musselburgh Flood Protection Scheme is currently due to be taken to a public inquiry after the local authority was unable to deal with hundreds of objections to it.
Now it has been revealed the inquiry is likely to take up to two years and a change to funding available means if it is approved it will have to be built in phases.
Councillors were also told an additional plan to repair the sea wall in East Lothian’s biggest town – which pushed the total cost of the project to over £100million – is likely to be shelved for years.
A report to East Lothian Council’s elected members this week revealed that the Scottish Government and local authorities body COSLA had agreed to cap the funding of national flood protections schemes across the country to around three times the cost initially agreed in 2016.
The Musselburgh Flood Protection Scheme was initially estimated to cost £8.9m ten years ago but has now grown to £53.9m and is likely to rise higher.
In addition to that, the council has separated out plans to repair and restore the sea wall at a cost of £52.1m and introduce new active travel routes at a further cost of £26.5.
Councillors were told that the cap meant the funding available for the flood protection scheme from national government which makes up 80 per cent of the total cost would be £35.6million.
It means with an additional 20 per cent contributed by the council it still falls short with total funding of £44.5million approved.
The council’s head of infrastructure Tom Reid told the meeting that a cap had been announced by the Scottish Government and COSLA late last month.
He said the rationale behind the decision was that there was “insufficient funds set aside by the Scottish Government for cycle one flood protection schemes so the cap is to get control over what they have available.”
Musselburgh ward councillor Shona McIntosh said she supported phasing the scheme adding it could be an opportunity to address local concerns about the overall size of the project and impact.
She said: “The COSLA decision at the end of January has really moved the goalposts on the delivery of this and raises a lot of questions.
“I would choose to see the phasing as an opportunity. It offers a chance to address the most common views in Musselburgh which is that we know we need something but not this big, right now.”
A report on the scheme last September revealed nearly 500 objections remained outstanding against the proposals despite months of talks between officers and protesters.
Council officials asked elected members to give preliminary approval to the scheme without any modifications after coming to the conclusion there would need to be too many to appease objectors and they still would not address all the issues raised.
The move meant Scottish Ministers called in the project taking the decision out of the council’s hands and confirming a public inquiry will be held.
The report to council this week said that inquiry may not start until autumn this year and could take up to two years to complete. It is also estimated it will cost the council over £1million to take part in.
Councillors pointed out that something would need to be done to protect the town from potential floods in the future but acknowledged that work on the river could be a priority with warning the phasing of the scheme could stretch for years to come.
Fellow Musselburgh councillor Andy Forrest said: “I welcome the report and the fact it is going to a public inquiry and will allow people to get things off their chest and say what they need to say.
“I will be supporting moving forward with the phasing, in recent years in Musselburgh you can see how much the river has risen. If it floods it is everything that comes with it, people could be out of their houses for years and losing them would be an absolute disaster.”
The report asked councillors to note the updates on the progress of the scheme with a report due to be brought back to members in April with more detail of how the cap will impact the project and potential phasing of it.
Tweet Share on Facebook
