Spat over rural road funding
StewartTower road at centre of clash
Perthshire politicians have attacked one another’s record in office in a row over the council’s recent decision to reallocate funding which was supposed to pay for “vital” road projects.
Scottish Nationalists John Swinney MSP and Councillor Grant Laing drew attention to the condition of the so-called Stewart Tower road linking the B9099 to the A9 this week, saying the former SNP-led administration set aside £800,000 to upgrade it.
The two went on to claim the current Conservative-led administration “turned its back” on locals when it reallocated the sum to cover the cost of other works apparently lined up elsewhere in the region in the recent capital budget.
But these comments led to the convener of the infrastructure committee, Angus Forbes, accusing Swinney and Laing of trying to score points with voters rather than work constructively with his group.
Mr Swinney said earlier this week: “With the building of new houses in Stanley and Luncarty, in addition to the expansion of Murthly over the past decade, the SNP’s infrastructure improvements were vital to ensuring that these villages are adequately equipped to handle this population growth.”
Mr Swinney added: “Indeed, so vital were these road improvements that the SNP sought to increase funding from £800,000 to £1.5 million. Predictably, the Tories have taken an axe to these proposals.
“By completely cancelling the planned improvements, the Tory council administration has turned its back on the people of Murthly, Stanley and Luncarty.
“I urge the Tory council to reconsider their stance and accept the SNP’s previouslyapproved proposals for this vital undertaking.”
Strathtay councillor Grant Laing added: “These road improvements are vital not only for the residents of Murthly, Stanley and Luncarty, but also all the commuters and tourists who use these link roads.
“If these roads were improved the traffic would join the A9 at these points, rather than driving through the aforementioned villages to access the trunk road. This would result in less traffic, less noise and less pollution within these villages.”
Councillor Forbes confirmed he was due to meet Councillor Laing on Wednesday this week to discuss his concerns, but went on: “I was very disappointed that he chose the day before our meeting to publicise this but I was not surprised.
“This sort of political pointscoring is what we have come to expect from the SNP group now they are in opposition.
“If they managed to find the courage to work with us then we could achieve much more for the people of Perth and Kinross.”
The Carse of Gowrie councillor continued: “This Conservative-led administration set aside £20 million over 10 years for infrastructure works for all of Perth and Kinross and we are pushing ahead with our plans to get that money spent to
Councillor Grant Laing and John Swinney MSP want money put back into a planned upgrade help all of our residents.
“Specifically, in relation to the Stewart Tower road, as Councillor Laing and Mr Swinney will know very well, nothing can happen to that road until the Scottish Government makes a decision in relation to the dualling process and where the access roads will be.
“Perhaps Mr Swinney could put some pressure on his colleagues to get on with that.”
He added: “The money which Councillor Laing refers to has been sitting in suspense for many years and was never enough to complete the project anyway.”