Covid recovery cash to plug region’ s potholes

Amillion-pound Covid cash fighting fund has been put in place to prepare Angus roads and communities for the winter ahead.

Councillors have agreed to pump £800,000 into plugging potholes across the district in a programme due to start straight away.

The authority will also spend £100k on extra gully clearing at local flooding troublespots.

Communities are to be able to tap into a £50,000 pot for local initiatives, with a similar sum invested in extra grit bins across the area.

The money is coming from £2.5m worth of uncommitted Covid-19 response, recovery and renewal reserves.

Angus finance spokesman Mark Salmond also announced smaller “multiplier effect” measures aimed at boosting the coronavirus recovery process.

Those include weekend winter opening for public toilets at three of the area’s busiest playparks and suspending superloo charges until next May.

“This is the right time in the Covid-19 recovery cycle to spend an additional £1m on targeted areas of vital importance, identified by Angus residents,” said Mr Salmond.

“The biggest part of the £1m – £800k – will be spent on additional roads maintenance ahead of this year’s winter weather.

“Roads officers already have plans in place, to hit the ground running, in areas all over Angus.

“There will be £50k for the creation of a winter community Can Do Fund.

“This will allow communities to self-help in snow clearing and basic gritting and make available safety equipment etc.”

The Montrose Independent said the measures were part of planning for the 2022 budget.

“These investments are spends to save.

“We must start investing more in our roads before they become more costly to repair,” added Mr Salmond.

Earlier this year, a report revealed less than six miles of Angus roads were resurfaced in 2019-20.

Good practice suggests roads should be surfaced every 40 years but the current Angus average is 194 years.

Mr Salmond added: “It is my ambition to look at small innovative interventions which will create a multiplier effect of benefits in our local communities and create ways of allowing communities to be more self-supportive.”

He highlighted winter toilet provision as a way of expanding Angus tourism provision in the coming months.

There will now be Saturday and Sunday opening at Montrose, Arbroath and Monifieth splash parks.

A £20,000 upgrade of the toilets at Glen Doll will take place.

And temporary toilets at Lunan Bay are to stay until the end of the season to allow further discussion on future provision.

There could also be a reopening of public toilets which were shut down in towns and villages several years’ ago.

Councillors agreed a move by Arbroath councillor Brenda Durno to look at investing £100,000 in the scheme.

A detailed list of possible locations is still to be drawn up.

“We must start investing more in our roads before they become more costly to repair

Picture by Kim Cessford. INVESTMENT: Councillors have agreed to spend £800k on additional roads maintenance ahead of winter this year.