Angus could be hit by a double funding whammy after the Scottish Government put a padlock on a £430,000 community chest.
Funding pressures have forced Holyrood to put its place based investment programme on hold until the autumn.
And the decision has already brought disappointment for local organisations hoping to land vital cash for a range of projects.
They face an anxious wait to see if any money will come their way.
It follows news Arbroath could face a fight to hang on to £20 million aimed at breathing new life into the town over the next five years.
That cash was promised by the previous Conservative government at Westminster.
But Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeve has suspended the Long Term Plan for Towns timetable in the face of a £20bn treasury black hole.
What is the latest funding blow?
The Scottish Government’s place-based investment programme is a £325m capital programme over five years.
It aims to put money in the hands of local communities to encourage and accelerate:
- Place-making
- 20-minute neighbourhoods
- Town centre revitalisation
- Community-led regeneration
- Local resilience
- Net Zero
It was scheduled to deliver £23m to councils across Scotland this year.
The breakdown of the fund’s five-year Angus allocation is:
2021/22 £720,000
2022/23 £624,000
2023/24 £435,000
2024/25 £435,000
2025/26 £435,000
The council said: “We can confirm that the Scottish Government have paused their capital place based investment programme, which includes the place based investment fund, until Autumn.
“All applicants in Angus have been advised.”
Opposition group concern
Arbroath Conservative councillor and opposition group leader Derek Wann said it was a funding blow.
“We as the opposition group are extremely disappointed in this decision by the Scottish Government,” he said.
“And we cannot understand why the administration group at Angus Council are not making more noise on this.
“The capital investment budget was finalised in March.
“But drop-ins and shortlists were done in April, so folk have been set up to fail by Holyrood.
“It’s another bit of evidence that the admin has been sold a lemon by the SNP government.”
Scottish Government position
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “A reduction in capital funding from the UK Government has led to an extremely challenging budgetary position requiring difficult decisions to be made.
“A decision to release the £23 million allocation for the place based investment programme this financial year has been paused until late Summer.
“However, in the meantime local authorities can apply for up to half of their allocation to ensure that priority projects can proceed.”
Conversation