The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Fear recycling row will land council in trouble
Montrose councillor says U-turn on Monifieth civic site was poorly handled
Angus Council opposition figures fear the area’s skip site row could land the authority in trouble with watchdogs.
A fiery Forfar meeting approved a surprise motion by council leader Bob Myles to remove the axe from above the Monifieth dump for a year.
The plan had been put in place by the former SNP administration which spent more than £50,000 on a widespread review.
Montrose SNP councillor Bill Duff, a leading figure in that group, said the handling of the U-turn could leave it open to challenge.
He said: “A considered, well-resourced review process that cost Angus Council over £50,000 was overturned after we were given 15 minutes to review the new proposals.
“The governance issues and the process applied were highly questionable and might be rightly criticised by the public and any regulator.”
Brechin will have the shortest opening hours of Angus’s recycling centres under the skip sites U-turn agreed by Angus Council.
The authority has made clear the new opening hours for all seven burgh recycling facilities, which will come into effect in either October or February.
The changes were part of a plan originally agreed in May 2016, before the new coalition administration agreed to revisit the proposals after taking control of the council at the May election.
However, the opposition SNP group has mounted another strong attack on what has been labelled a wasteful review, which they fear may land the council in trouble with watchdogs.
The agreed plans will see Brechin recycling centre closed on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from the end of October.
Monifieth and Carnoustie will both be closed Tuesday and Thursday and reduced hours of operation will see noon-4pm weekday hours of operation applied at every burgh recycling centre, with the exception of the recently revamped Arbroath facility.
All Angus sites will operate full days at weekends.
Opening hours changes at Forfar, Kirriemuir and Monifieth will not be put in place until February to allow staff consultation to take place.
A council spokesperson said: “It must be emphasised that it was agreed to monitor the usage at all recycling centres and allow opening times to be adjusted to optimise usage.”
Monifieth’s reprieve following the three-month review by a council member/officer group (MOG) remains seen by some as only a stay of execution and senior SNP figures say they are furious a process costing £50,000 was ignored.
Montrose SNP councillor Bill Duff said: “The group visited modern recycling centres in Perth and Dundee and each of the seven recycling sites in Angus.
“It met on five occasions and was attended by 10 to 12 people each time, with copious amounts of data supplied by officers.
“The MOG cost £49,000 by delaying the closures mandated by the May 2016 decision and a further £4,000 in officer time.
“A considered, well-resourced review process that cost Angus Council more than £50,000 was overturned after we were given 15 minutes to review the new proposals.
“The governance issues and the process applied were highly questionable and might be rightly criticised by the public and any regulator,” said Mr Duff.
“Given the scale of financial challenges faced by Angus Council, this is nothing short of a disgrace and does not auger well for future considerations,” he added.
A ... review process that cost Angus Council more than £50,000 was overturned after we were given 15 minutes to review the new proposals. BILL DUFF