The work, costing £420,000, with £1.580 million more earmarked for future years, had been due to run from this year until 2011.

However, Alan Paul of the council's finance and asset management service told the Citizen the proposals had slipped back and were unlikely to happen in the next three years.

He added: ''Members of the policy, finance and asset management committee had to weigh up a huge range of potential options and the Kinness Burn flood works didn't come out within the proposals that we, as council officers, recommended to councillors.

''We appraised all the bids, but that one didn't make the cut.
''We expect it would be considered within the council's 10-year investment programme which councillors will look at next February.

''The Kinessburn work is unlikely to happen in the next three years, but should happen in the next 10.

''Flood defence schemes tend to be quite controversial. Some people love them, some hate them. That, coupled with working through the design solutions, will take quite a long time. The nature of the work requires public consultation."

In January, residents living near Kinness Burn were assured that ongoing plans to develop a much-needed flood defence scheme in the area would not be affected by the SNP's announcement that Scotland's flood defence schemes would no longer be supported by specifically-designated central government money. Instead, councils have to find the money for the work from their general budgets.

Householders around the burn have suffered for years with water-logged basements and swamped gardens during heavy rain.

The area, along with part of Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy Sea Wall, were all listed as priority schemes the council wanted to develop. Work has already started on the Dunfermline scheme, which councillors last week voted more money towards, to help tackle "technical issues," said Mr Paul.

The committee also agreed that £2 million be allocated to feasibility studies for an EU partnership scheme to replace Kirkcaldy sea wall, upgrade the esplanade and include sustainable technology.