Alex Johnstone has welcomed the meeting on Brechin’s loss of over £800,000 from the Town Centre Regeneration Fund, calling it ‘the right thing to do’.
Mr Johnstone first raised his concerns about the funding in the Scottish Parliament at Ministers Question Time in December. In response Finance Secretary John Swinney, pointed out that it was up to Angus Council to formulate the project, and it was not for the Scottish Government to dictate its contents.
In February, Mr Johnstone lodged a written question in Parliament regarding unspent Town Centre Regeneration Funds, which revealed that only Aberdeenshire Council, and Angus Council had failed to draw down all of the cash, with Aberdeenshire losing over £80,000, and Angus losing £800,000.
Mr Johnstone said “I welcome this meeting, which is being organised by the Leader of Angus Council. I know the strength of feeling that exists among Brechiners about losing out on this much needed investment, but I am deeply concerned at the strongly worded e-mail from the Scottish Government, which appears to cast doubt on a report which was to be laid before Councillors on Tuesday evening.”
“So far, it seems that information provided by Council officers appears to have raised more questions than answers, and I hope tonight’s (16/03/11) presentation will give a comprehensive overview of the chain of events, which ended with Brechin losing out on substantial levels of investment.”