Residents of a Perthshire village will continue fighting for flood defences if a proposed scheme is ditched by councillors on Wednesday.
Householders in Greenloaning, near Dunblane, have been waiting almost a decade for a scheme to stop the Millstone Burn bursting its banks.
The most serious incident saw six houses and the village hotel flooded in 2004.
Consultants have since been working on flood prevention plans costing anything up to £1.65 million, but have concluded they are not economical.
Perth and Kinross Council’s environment committee will be asked by officials to agree not to take any scheme forward and abandon further investigations.
Residents were told of the latest twist at a recent meeting, and Braco and Greenloaning Community Council chairman Adrian Pryor said they are disappointed.
He said: “The Greenloaning residents aren’t very happy. They didn’t think about what the River Allan does in terms of blocking the exit from the burn that caused the flooding.
“They are writing back to the council about it. They’re not accepting that that’s the end of it.”
A paper to go before the committee outlines the tortuous saga and the reasons for calling a halt to work.
It describes how initial consultants Mouchel concluded in 2006 that a flood defence scheme could be justified.
It recommended enhancing embankments along the Millstone Burn and raising access bridges and service pipes.
In October 2007 the council agreed to take the project forward, provided funding could be found.
But more than 18 months later, with money in place, a further study by new consultants Halcrow was carried out using new government legislation.
It stated councils could only promote flood prevention schemes where the cost would be lower than that of the damage it would prevent.
Three schemes were considered, including a near-£500,000 flood relief channel to divert water away and a £99,000 project to raise the river bank. Neither offered full protection.
The only option which did was a scheme to build a flood wall and embankments, as well as raising a road bridge and two footbridges.
At £1.65 million, the cost would be far more than the benefit gained, according to the consultants.
The paper notes: “In view of the fact that the consultant’s report has demonstrated that the Greenloaning Flood Mitigation Scheme is not economically viable, it is proposed that no further work should be undertaken.”