On the 23 December 2012 Hatton woke up to find flooding.  The Water of Cruden had overflowed its banks and flooded the area round about.   Water was rushing down the burn which flows past the Hatton Mill.  I took some quick video of the scene when I was out with the dog early that morning, including standing on the bridge on Hatton Farm Road, watching the water rushing below.    Little did I think that the structure of the bridge had been significantly damaged, including the water, gas and electricity mains which crossed it.  (Nor did the driver of the white car which you can see on the video casually driving past the Hatton Mill and over the bridge.

That morning we had our water cut off and a power cut too.  But worse was to come when the bridge was declared unsafe and closed.  In a few days a temporary foot bridge was erected to allow the people from  the north of the village to walk across and get to the main road, not to mention the shop, the school, the village hall, the doctors, the pub etc.   The only other way round was a 3 mile detour.

That was December – and it is only now, at the beginning of March that work is starting to place a temporary bridge to allow vehicles to cross.  I read in the local paper this week that it will be six weeks more until the temporary bridge is open.

News on the streets is that the Hatton shop has seen a marked down turn in trade as a result of the bridge collapse  and now a visit to the Hatton Waste Recycling Centre (aka the skips) to dispose of rubbish seems not worth the bother for those living on the south side of the village.

Hatton residents are waiting desperately for the bridge to open and the village be reunited.   It has taken 4 months for a temporary bridge.  How long for the permanent repair?