Conservation at heart of new role with independent charity
Budget to be set on March10
Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust (PKCT) is looking to recruit a new conservation officer to join its team to carry out biodiversity, conservation and climate change-related projects across Perthshire.
The independent charity negotiates access to land, builds paths, helps care for the countryside and undertakes conservation projects, all to improve and promote access to the countryside for walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
It manages Perthshire Big Tree
Country, the Cateran Trail and the Perthshire Conifer Conservation Programme and is currently developing the River Tay Way.
The trust wants to develop a new emphasis on maintaining and enhancing biodiversity and species conservation, while helping people to enjoy Perthshire’s countryside.
As part of this review a new ecological restoration project is now under development that could transform the environment of the area and the livelihoods of the people who live and work in Perth and Kinross.
The conservation officer would have various responsibilities to deliver this challenging work.
The post-holder would also spend up to two days a week working on multistakeholder conservation projects involving globally-threatened conifer species in Perthshire and supporting managers of nationally important tree collections.
For more details contact trust director Peter Quinn by sending an email to peter.quinn@pkct.org.
The closing date for CVs and covering letters is March 19.
Perth and Kinross Council has voted to freeze council tax for 2021/22.
The decision came after the Scottish Government offered PKC the equivalent of a three per cent council tax rise in its draft budget with the proviso that the local authority froze council tax in the forthcoming financial year.
But a call has been made for a stronger one-year settlement from the Scottish Government as the move means PKC will receive £1.2 million less in revenue.
The region’s elected members met virtually to set the council tax rate on Wednesday, February 24.
A report presented to councillors said maintaining the 4.28 per cent rise in 2021/22 – which was set over three financial years last year – would generate about £4m in revenue for the local authority, while freezing council tax would mean PKC would receive around £2.8m from the Scottish Government.
Council leader Murray
Lyle said PKC would face a “significant expenditure pressure” on its budget and there was no indication the council tax contribution from the Scottish Government would be baselined into future allocations.
But the Conservative Strathallan representative added: “Despite this I am sure that a council tax freeze in the current circumstances would be welcomed by our taxpayers and the administration motion moves to accept the terms set out in the draft Scottish budget.”
While supporting a freeze, the SNP group tabled an amendment to delay Perth and Kinross Council’s budget meeting until March 17.
The Liberal Democrat group put forward an amendment to maintain the
4.28 per cent rise.
Lib Dem group leader, Cllr Peter Barrett, said: “I’ve looked the council tax freeze gift horse in the mouth and its teeth are rotten.”
Councillors voted in favour of the SNP amendment as the substantive option to take forward to the final vote.
Only PKC’s five Lib Dem councillors supported their group’s amendment to maintain a 4.28 per cent rise in council tax.
Both the SNP’s amendment and the Conservative motion supported a council tax freeze, but the SNP proposal requested the budget be set on March 17 while the Conservative motion moved for the budget to be set on March 10.
PKC’s revenue budget meeting was originally scheduled to take place on March 3.
SNP group leader, Strathtay elected member Grant Laing, said the extra week could be used to study the UK and Scottish Government budgets before setting the council’s version.
The UK budget is scheduled for March 3 and the final stage of the Scottish budget bill will be voted through on March 9.
Cllr Laing said the additional time would allow councillors to have all the information at their fingertips to make an “informed” decision.
The motion to push it back by one week to March 10 was supported by 21 votes to 17.