Storm Eowyn clean up costs Scots councils £5million after weather carnage (2025)

Schools, libraries, council depots, harbours, roads and houses were damaged in the storm - and councils are paying the price.

The clean up from one of the worst storm in a century has cost skint Scots councils £5million, a Record investigation has revealed.

Deadly Storm Eowyn wreaked havoc across the UK, leaving a trail of death and destruction its wake.

It claimed the life of Calum Carmichael, 19, in Mauchline, Ayrshire, after his car was struck by a falling tree and 100mph gusts ripped roofs from buildings and left more than 100,000 people without power.

Figures obtained by a freedom of information request revealed the clean-up operation across 32 local authorities has cost the public purse-string millions so far - with the bill continuing to rise.

Last night climate experts warned global warming will bring more destructive weather to Scotland.

Glasgow Caledonian University professor Tahseen Jafry who leads a team of experts in the field said: “Scotland’s weather patterns will shift in the coming decades.

“We will see an increase in more extreme weather, leading to damage to infrastructure in towns and cities. The most vulnerable people will be affected. There is no way to escape from the effects of global warming.”

The total figure - including estimates for outstanding repairs - stands at £4,828,530.70 but some council didn’t supply figures so the final tally is expected to be well over £5million.

North Ayrshire Council has the largest bill, with an estimated outlay of £911,232. But the local authority says it is expected to top £1m as a number of “wider repairs remain outstanding and the Council are currently awaiting costs to be finalised.”

The local authority spent £55,000 on clearing felled trees, £24,464 on external contractors, and £10,000 shelled out for external fencing repairs.

The roof of a Salt Dome the council is responsible for, at Goldcraigs Depot, near Kilwinning, had to be removed, at a cost of £9,000, and the replacement is estimated at £350,000.

Emergency road repairs costing £65,000 were carried out, and further repairs are estimated at £300,000. Damage to Saltcoats Harbour is costing £38,000, while Irvine Harbour damage will set the body back £5,000.

West Lothian Council was another council hit hard, incurring a bill of £830,000. The figure was made up of damage to homes, schools, and community buildings.

The council said that for “Country Park, Open Spaces and Cemetery Works” there are “estimated costs” of £130,000 and that “Housing Repairs” are “estimated in the region of £700,000”.

South Ayrshire Council is having to stump up £638,000 as a result of the storm, with damage to 640 properties and trees costing £128,000 to clean up.

The council said: “There are still 25 areas outstanding and following completion there will be removal of the heavy timber at a number of these sites.

“Current estimated cost to completion is in the region of £64k for works undertaken to date and an estimated cost of £64k to retrieve and remove felled timber.”

Falkirk Council’s bill is £605,508.51, but the local authority said there are other costs which have still to be calculated. There were 53 instances of damage to buildings, including a number of schools.

The council said Maddiston Primary School will cost £250,000 to restore, and the council had to spend £72,000 on workers.

West Dunbartonshire Council is set to fork out £500,045 with almost half the cash being used to fix 12 damaged buildings across the council area.

First Minister John Swinney described the storm as a “ferocious assault” which leaves the question of climate action absolutely unavoidable”.

A new poll found one in five Scots (17 per cent) said climate change had already affected their lives in the last year. A YouGov poll also found that seven in ten Scots expect the financial costs of climate impacts like Storm Eowyn to climb over the next decade.

Last year there were nine named storms that struck Scotland.

Full list of repair bills:

Aberdeen City Council - Did not supply the information within the statutory timeframe.

Aberdeenshire Council - £7,128.13.

Angus Council - £14,835.86.

Argyll and Bute Council - Said costs were covered by council contracts.

City of Edinburgh Council - £74,896.77.

Clackmannanshire Council - £5,303.46.

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar - £0.00.

Dumfries and Galloway Council - £267,611.8, with a number of costings still to come.

Dundee City Council - £9,264.52. Plus unspecified costs for repairs to the V&A Museum.

East Ayrshire Council - £62,873.44.

East Dunbartonshire Council - £20,450 plus 178 other instances where costs have still to be provided.

East Lothian Council - £12,648.

East Renfrewshire Council - £84,460 for trees, plus £10,699 for building repairs.

Falkirk Council - £605,508.51, plus costs which have still to be calculated.

Fife Council - £107,234.

Glasgow City Council - £67,102.17

Inverclyde Council - £48,872.68.

Midlothian Council - £50,000.

North Ayrshire Council - £856,232 for buildings, plus a number of costs still to come, and a further £55,000 for trees.

North Lanarkshire Council - £111,637.95, with other costs to come.

Orkney Islands Council - £70,000.

Perth and Kinross Council - £55,000 on buildings and £61,413.59 on trees.

Renfrewshire Council - £174,500.

Scottish Borders Council - Said costs were covered by council departments and that other information was not held.

Shetland Islands Council - £3,694.

South Ayrshire Council - £638,000.

South Lanarkshire Council - Did not provide costs.

Stirling Council - £70,530.67.

The Highland Council - £22,735.18.

The Moray Council - £871.67.

West Dunbartonshire Council - £500,045.30.

West Lothian Council - £830,000.