Bid to put brakes on active travel spending

Opposition Angus councillors propose to halt the authority’s £4 million contribution to an Arbroath active travel scheme in alternative spending plans this week.

Councillors meet tomorrow to set the authority’s budget and the SNP group has said it cannot support the multi-million-pound funding for the wider Sustrans project.

There is continuing controversy around the ambitious scheme centred on the A92 through Arbroath.

SNP finance spokesman and Montrose councillor Bill Duff confirmed the opposition group will be putting forward an alternative budget. He said huge difficulties faced by families over the past year played an important part in the SNP group’s thinking.

“We decided to award children, families and justice services extra funding to enable them to increase staffing in the areas of family support; increase allowances for fostering, adoption and kinship care; and improve services for children with disabilities,” he added.