Councillor claims no budget transparency
SLC say they laid bare cuts to maintenance to members
An independent councillor has called for transparency over South Lanarkshire Council’s decision to stop grass cutting and hedge trimming in Mossneuk and Gardenhall.
The News previously revealed it was part of savings made by SLC who say the areas affected are not owned by them and therefore not their responsibility.
But the row surrounding it rumbles on with Councillor David Watson questioning how this decision was made claiming that there was no detail in the papers passed as part of the 2020/21 budget.
He claims chairman of community and enterprise resources, Councillor John Anderson, said he was not aware of the areas that would be affected by the cost-cutting measures but that if the council did not own the land they should not be responsible for its maintenance.
Councillor Watson added: “This is like a Boris Johnson answer to a question – broad brush and never mind the detail.
“If the council do not own the land, why have I had reports of them wanting to sell strips of land to local residents for garden extensions?
“Where is the openness, transparency and community engagement the administration keep banging on about.
“There has been no mention of this affecting nearly 1200 properties in the Mossneuk and Gardenhall area.”
The independent councillor says the budget papers made “no mention of the consequences” of the saving, only that there were 101 sites confirmed as being owned by third parties.
He added: “A change of this magnitude surely merit discussion and consultation with local councillors and local community.
“There has never been any question of the council not maintaining the open spaces and hedges in this area.
“The condition of some areas is unacceptable and I find it astonishing that SLC are prepared to leave it in this condition.”
A spokesman for the council said their “tried and tested” arrangements to deal with cost saving proposals, which offer elected members input, have been praised by Audit Scotland.
They say the savings proposals for 2020/21 were put forward in November and scrutinised by members – one of the cost saving proposals put forward, they say, was that the council stop the free maintenance of land it does not own.
The spokesman told the News: “It was suggested that 101 such sites were being maintained at taxpayers’ expense, and in eight cases the private owners had been identified.
“It was proposed the owners should maintain the land themselves or contract the council to do it at their own expense.
“When an elected member asked in December for the identity of those eight areas the details were supplied, this included the area in Mossneuk.
“Two months later the proposal to cease maintenance of these privately-owned sites as of April 2020 was approved as part of a unanimous budget.”