Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Caley boost but museum misses out
BRECHIN Caledonian Railway is set to land a six-figure windfall for a Victorian bridge project in a reshuffle of how Angus Council will spend UK prosperity fund cash.
And it means a controversial £450,000 plan to replace the leaking roof of Arbroath Community Centre will be put on hold.
A £143,000 scheme to transform the outside of Arbroath’s Signal Tower Museum is also going on the back burner.
Communities committee councillors will be asked to redraw the prosperity fund spending plans next week.
Officials say the volunteer-run Brechin railway attraction’s bridge project should go back on the priority list.
The 146-year-old footbridge from Glasgow’s southside will cross the old railway in the heart of the Angus town.
Network Rail gave the structure to the Caley Railway in 2023 after taking it down during a Glasgow electrification project.
Once installed it will allow pedestrian and wheelchair access to the railway. The committee recommendation is to allocate £108,000 of prosperity fund cash to the scheme.
The bridge plan was one of the Caley Rail projects in an ambitious multi-millionpound levelling-up bid in 2022.
It collapsed after Angus Council refused to back the award-winning group.
The area missed out again during a second round of funding last year.
On Tuesday, councillors will be asked to defer two Arbroath projects.
Those include a £450,000 plan to replace the roof of the town community centre.
The scheme was branded “madness” by critics last year. There is uncertainty over the future of the Marketgate building.
Along with museums in Kirriemuir and Brechin, it was handed back to the council by AngusAlive in a cost-cutting move.
A feasibility study to find a community group willing to take over the running of it is under way. Council officials now say
the cost of repairing the leaky roof and lowering the ceiling may be lower than first thought.
“A drone survey was undertaken to provide a more detailed analysis of the works required to the roof,” they said.
“This has indicated that a less costly option is potentially possible and costs for this are being developed.
“The feasibility study to consider community interest... is due for completion by the end of February/start of March.
“We aim to bring a report to communities
committee on April 16. We are therefore unable to commit or spend any funds on this project this financial year.”
It means the community centre project would not meet rules around when prosperity fund monies must be spent.
The same situation exists for a courtyard/cafe project at the Signal Tower Museum which was allocated £143,000 of funding.
However, the scheme has stalled so officials are recommending the funding allocation is also deferred to 2024-25.