Northern Beaches Council has been awarded $2 million from the NSW and Commonwealth Governments to improve the Scotland Island road and drainage network.

Northern Beaches Mayor Sue Heins said the funding support was welcome news to Council and the Scotland Island community.

“The devastating storm and flood events of 2021 and 2022 left many communities across the state with extensive damage and a massive repair bill. The Northern Beaches was no exception,” Mayor Heins said.

“Scotland Island is one location where we are continuing repair works, with a significant program to rebuild the road and drainage network.

“We thank the Australian Government and NSW Government for their support as we rebuild vital infrastructure and make our communities more resilient to future natural disasters.”

The $2 million grant was awarded through the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements and is delivered through the Infrastructure Betterment Fund.

The Infrastructure Betterment Fund is focused on building back essential public assets including roads and drainage networks impacted by the storm and flood events of 2021 and 2022.

The funding will assist Council in meeting the high cost of improving road infrastructure on the island making them less susceptible to the impacts of storm events. 

“By rebuilding roads and drainage systems back to a higher standard, we are better prepared for future disasters, and can keep communities connected, reduce the amount of hardship they experience, as well as avoid future reconstruction costs during and after a disaster event,” Mayor Heins said.

Council engineers are currently working on redefining the scope of work to match the grant funding. 

It is intended to add this latest betterment funding to the funding already received for storm damage repairs to build greater resilience into the road infrastructure on the island and reduce the high cost of ongoing road maintenance in this remote community.