FUNDING is now in place to try to solve a flooding problem in Dalgety Bay.

Fife Council confirmed they had the money and a possible solution has been put to Scottish Water after a tide of complaints from residents in Lade Braes.

Poor maintenance at the privately-owned Longhill Park means that it often floods, with water flowing down into the street and affecting homes.

At the South and West Fife area committee last week, Ross Speirs, service manager for structural services, said: "With Lade Braes, we have a design to show the proposed layout we're looking at.

"The concerns we've had here is that the land is not owned or controlled by Fife Council so we've been doing a lot of legal research in the background, hence the reason for delays in getting anything done here.

"We can't just wander onto someone else's land and start digging it up and do work on it.

"We've been having discussions with Scottish Water so we can look at developing, in the next financial year, a solution here."

Initially, there wasn't any funding for this project but that changed after last month's announcement by the council of an extra £5 million to tackle flooding in the Kingdom.

Longhill Park is owned by housebuilder Barratt Homes and floods frequently during spells of bad weather.

Under what is thought to be a pre-existing agreement with the then-Dunfermline District Council, which was abolished in 1996, Barratt takes no responsibility for maintaining the land, delegating responsibility to the local authority.

A report to the committee explained: "The primary flooding factor in this location is overland surface water from private land that affects properties on Lade Braes as well as the public road.

"Different drainage systems were installed in the park in the past, some as early as 1983.

"However, most of the existing drainage systems have been lost due to a lack of maintenance and the introduction of landscaping works within the private land.

"While this land is not in council ownership, it is currently maintained by grounds maintenance and agreement was reached that a more permanent solution would be considered, subject to funding being allocated.

"Various design proposals were progressed and discussions commenced with Scottish Water to agree a suitable discharge point for the surface water.

"These discussions have proven to be lengthy and are continuing. Once concluded, it is hoped that a connection to the Scottish Water network will be permitted to allow the construction to progress."