A public information event will take place to keep members of the community up to date with the latest developments of the Gruggies Burn Flood Alleviation Scheme.

The event will be held at Dumbarton Football Club’s stadium on Thursday, February 15, from 2pm until 7.30pm.

Council teams are racing to meet the March 31 deadline set by the Scottish Government to complete an outline of the design project.

Once the design is finalised, and if approved and funds are secured, more detailed plans will be developed for the project before construction work starts.

The upcoming event will give members of the community the chance to speak to the project team, contractors Balfour Beatty and consultants Fairhurst about the project, its impact on the local area and ultimately how the project will aim to alleviate flooding in future years.

The project, once completed, aims to alleviate future occurrences of flooding in the Gruggies Burn area.

In October last year, the area around Gruggies Burn in Dumbarton East was badly affected by flooding.

Thanks to the lack of high tide coinciding with the rainfall, the impact was less than it could have been.

The area has suffered from flooding over the years and the new scheme aims to change that and reassure local residents.

Councillor David McBride, convener of Infrastructure, Regeneration and Economic Development, said: "I want to thank the team who have been working hard on the design for this scheme which aims to bring huge benefits to the people of Dumbarton East who are most affected by the flooding from Gruggies Burn.

"The weather event in October brought into sharp focus how severe this problem can be so it is vital that we look towards a permanent solution and do what we can to get this into place as quickly as practicably possible."

The council has also set up a subsidy scheme to offer support to people living with the ongoing threat of flooding.

These interim steps and information on how to apply for aid can be accessed via the Council’s website at http://tinyurl.com/4w78dwvf.

Councillor Lawrence O’Neill, vice convener of Infrastructure, Regeneration and Economic Development, said: "This is a really important scheme and I welcome this event as it will give people most impacted by the flooding in Dumbarton East the chance to speak directly with the team working on a better solution going forward.

“In saying that, it is also vital that people who are worried about flooding at their property use the resources which are available to them now to help protect their homes.”

The council, if successful with the scheme, plans to keep residents updated throughout the planning and construction stages.