The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Row over cash for ‘pet project’ in Montrose
SEAFRONT: Upgrade described as just a ‘glorified paddling pool’
A row has erupted over the decision to dip into a council fund to upgrade a “glorified paddling pool” in Montrose.
Angus policy and resources committee councillors voted to add £127,000 from the capital contingency fund to the £150,000 set aside to revamp Montrose Seafront Splash, but the move has reignited claims of cash going to “pet projects” in a “two-tier” Angus.
The current set-up will be replaced by a splash-pad type attraction, but three failed bids for external funding left the council struggling to make up the substantial shortfall.
Councillor Brian Boyd said: “I’m sorry in some ways to be suggesting we do not approve this because I believe in accessibility and it will help with that,
“This will be fantastic for Montrose and for visitors from all over Angus and elsewhere. DAVID FAIRWEATHER, LEADER OF ANGUS COUNCIL
but at the end of the day we just don’t have the cash to be doing this.”
He added: “What we’ve now got is yet another pet project in Montrose and the harsh reality is that in the financial climate we are in, I don’t believe this is what’s best for Angus. I don’t want a twotier system in Angus, so let’s have a bit of fairness.”
Councillor Beth Whiteside said: “We should be investing wherever possible, but I have a problem in this instance over how this might be perceived by the public.”
Finance spokesman Councillor Angus Macmillan Douglas said: “This £127,000 is capital, so if this lasts for 20 years it works out at around £6,000 a year and I would suggest that is not a significant sum of money.”
Council leader David Fairweather said: “This will be fantastic for Montrose and for visitors from all over Angus and elsewhere.”
The council is also pursuing plans for new toilets at the attraction after a barrage of complaints over the state of two portable loos put in place to cater for hundreds of daily visitors in the summer.