RECENT storm and flood damage has cost Scottish Borders Council (SBC) around £250,000, a meeting heard this week.

Senior councillors were told on Tuesday (February 8) that the local authority will have to absorb the costs itself after being unable to access the Bellwin scheme – a government fund to help with unforeseen fees in the aftermath of emergency incidents.

The initiative has a trigger point of around £520,000, according to SBC’s chief financial officer, David Roberston.

Gordon Edgar – the council’s executive member for infrastructure, travel and transport – asked Mr Robertson how high the costs were as “substantial works” were carried out following Storm Arwen and the flooding event in Hawick.

Mr Robertson said: “Yes, there were but my understanding of that is that, at the last update I had, we were around £250,000 of costs associated with these events, around half the expenditure of initiating a Bellwin claim.

“The thing about Bellwin is once the scheme has been opened any subsequent events that occur during the remainder of the financial year are effectively cumulative so it operates a bit like a stop loss policy.”

Mr Robertson added that should the council incur further Belwin expenditure in the remainder of the year, and Scottish ministers agree to open the scheme, then it may be able to access support “but as it stands we’re funding these storm-related costs ourselves”.

An SBC report put to elected members states that the council is trying to manage the £250,000 costs “within existing budgets”.

Meanwhile, council leader Mark Rowley, of the Conservatives, raised the issue of rising energy costs and when SBC officers are expecting to see the “pressures” many households across the region are currently experiencing.

Mr Robertson told the meeting that the local authority has already purchased most of its energy needs for 2022/23.

“The council is effectively protected from the increase in the price of wholesale gas and electricity,” he said.

Mr Robertson did acknowledge that rises in prices could become more of a pressure in future years, but that he hoped ongoing work to increase the energy efficiency of council-owned buildings would minimise any impact.