Argyll and Bute Council’s former leader has slammed the process behind decisions over where £20 million of UK Government funding could be spent in the area.
A report revealed that Helensburgh’s Colgrain Business Park project, Rothesay Pavilion and Oban Airport Aviation Business Park are rated as ‘green’ for a share of the Levelling Up funding by council officers.
But Kintyre and the Islands Liberal Democrat councillor Robin Currie said that the Dunbeg corridor, which would see 400 houses built, but is listed as amber, should be a top priority.
A council official responded that regardless of grading by authority staff, the Secretary of State for the Department of Housing, Communities and Levelling Up will make the decisions on where the money will go.
And executive director Kirsty Flanagan said she could make no guarantees on whether the funding will be there after the General Election, due by January 2025, if a new UK Government takes charge. The discussion took place at a full council meeting on Thursday April 25.
Councillor Currie said: “I am not happy with our dealing with this. I half jokingly said to Michael Gove: ‘Give us £20million and we will show you what a difference it can make.’
“But now we are here and it is the same old, same old. To me, the thing that is hitting us all in the face is the roundabout and development at Dunbeg to let 400 houses be built there.
“That is a no brainer. If you have money there, surely to goodness that is the number one priority?
“You are doing homes for 400 families and bringing in extra income through council tax, and it opens up the commercial side. That is crying out for funding.
“Then I get to my own area, with the roads. Everybody keeps saying that £200 million is going to the Exchequer and every year, what do we get back?
“I have now lost count of the distilleries on the island, but it is probably on the verge of too many. The infrastructure just cannot cope.
“I am old enough to remember the late 1970s when the road from Port Askaig to Balligrant was reconstructed. It is still the best piece of road on the island. I’m lost for words, really.
"We said earlier on, regarding the Jura Ferry, this was a priority. They are all saying this is needed, because it is holding them back, because the capacity isn’t there. Jura is one of the few islands where the population is going up.
“I am severely disappointed and I just wish there to be an opportunity to have more discussions about this.
“If it is not to be agreed until 2025/26, I am not saying all these things have to be in, but let’s have a conversation about them.”
Ms Flanagan responded: “Dunbeg was one of the places we took the UK Government officials to, and is absolutely one we would be supporting.
“The reason it is amber is because of the deliverability by 2025/26, but now we are aware that as long as we commit the expenditure, that could be a possibility.
“But we are not in control of this; it is very much the UK Government.
“It does not matter what colour we mark projects; it will be the Secretary of State that will make the decision. It could even be something that is not in the report.”
Councillor Math Campbell-Sturgess (SNP, Helensburgh and Lomond South) asked: “How will this be affected by the General Election?
“If a different government comes in, is there a very real possibility that they will decide they do not like this and will not spend the money here?”
Ms Flanagan replied: “I could not really answer that question. That is the reason they want to make an announcement. If they have committed it, you would hope that the commitment remains.”
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