Split on PH2O funding package
There was a ripple of discontent at PKC’s frugal investment in PH20.
The SNP has been campaigning for a brand new leisure pool and ice rink and had £8million set aside in their budget proposal.
But the Conservative-Lib Dem administration made waves at Wednesday’s budget meeting when they announced a more meagre £500,000 investment.
Council leader Murray Lyle defended the cautious investment as wanting to explore the building proposal fully before committing to invest more money from capital next year.
He told the PA:“We need to have something that’s deliverable. There has never been a business case to support it. The SNP just had a pot of money– we need to go beyond that.”
However deputy SNP leader Grant Laing said: “There’s no commitment to PH20. They need to stump up and put money in. Unless we put money in, we will not get any funders.”
The council also approved plans to invest £400,000 in Blairgowrie Recreation Centre to deliver a six-lane swimming pool and additional multi-gym capacity.
Caroline Shiers, Conservative councillor for Blairgowrie and Glens, said this was in addition to their £500,000 investment in football facilities in the town’s Davie Park.
PKC also announced plans to open a young carers’centre in memory of
world class events such as the Solheim Cup, and show that Perth and Kinross is truly open for business.”
Opposition leader, SNP councillor Dave Doogan was less impressed, saying: “This budget debate was an unambitious procession of failure by a Tory administration seized by its own the late Tory councillor, Barbara Vaughan. Barbara, who represented Strathtay, was tragically killed in a road accident on the A9 14 months ago. She had been passionate about education and was awarded an OBE for her work. Councillor Caroline Shiers told the chamber young carers were something close to Barbara’s heart and it gave her pleasure to announce the centre would be named after her.
Councillor Laing
inaction.
“This group of Tory councillors were until recently proposing council tax increases of around one per cent.
“Now they are hiking it up by four per cent while the SNP have remained consistent at three per cent.
“Despite their cash grab from household budgets, they are investing hundreds of thousands less in services and dipping into council reserves again.
“On capital expenditure also, the Tories have used barely half of the Scottish Government’s allocation to Perth and Kinross for 2019/20 – a scandalous dereliction of duty.
“It’s now clear for all to see that the Lib Dems are calling all the shots in this Tory-led council and history show us that this always ends badly.”