Stirling Council has voted to approve almost £4 million of additional borrowing and dip into £2 million in its reserves to fund capital projects.
At last week’s budget meeting, a total of 89 capital projects were outlined across the forthcoming financial year including new priorities such as building on IT and digital investments and urgent improvements to the railway underpass at Stirling’s Burghmuir Road.
As revealed in the Observer last month, the controversial Viewforth Link Road was left out of the 2021/22 capital budget.
On the wider capital programme, however, Conservative group leader Neil Benny expressed his displeasure at “saddling future generations with borrowing and debt” and called for a deferral to allow more detailed scrutiny.
Councillor Benny said while there was “a lot of good stuff in this budget”, he and his group had an issue with taking £2 million out of reserves, adding that he was “quite surprised there was so little information about each of the items” on the capital programme.
He added: “When times are tough you check the stuff you are wanting to buy is absolutely essential.”
The Conservatives’ amendment asked for a “decent opportunity” to have a conversation about items on the programme.
Green Dunblane and Bridge of Allan councillor Alasdair Tollemache said he recognised the difficulties in preparing such a budget in these times but added: “If we could have had a discussion a few weeks ago on an all party basis that would have been good because we could have had a larger input into this which we haven’t had.”
SNP Bannockburn councillor Alasdair MacPherson, however, responded: “I think Cllr Tollemache and Cllr Benny needed to get their act together.”
He added: “The capital budget does not get drawn up a week before budget. You have had a whole year to work on this. If you had any questions you could have asked then.”
Moving the SNP/Labour capital budget Labour councillor Margaret Brisley said the capital programme was a “rolling programme.”
She added: “Much of what’s in this budget has already been contained in previous budgets showing it as expenditure for 2021/22.
“But the only difference to this one was officers giving us their professional view on what they felt could and could not be achieved in this financial year coming.”
She questioned how long it could take to go through the detail the Conservative group requested in its amendment for all 89 capital projects before the start of the new financial year in less than three weeks.
Cllr Brisley said: “I don’t think we can afford any delay in getting this programme started because absolutely no spending can be undertaken by officers on any project in the capital programme for next year until this programme is approved.”
The SNP/Labour capital budget was carried by 13 votes to nine. It won the support of Green councillor Alasdair Tollemache - who originally supported the amendment which fell by 10 votes to 13 - and independent councillor Maureen Bennison.
