By Jennifer Cosgrove

MONIFIETH RESIDENTS believe the town has not reaped the benefits of the millions brought to the area by the Open Championship at Carnoustie.

Thousands of golf fans flocked to Tayside from all corners of the globe to glimpse the world-class players competing for the famous claret jug.

Despite £24 million estimated to have been pumped into the local economy during the event, the town feels its potential was overlooked.

During a meeting of the Monifieth Community Partnership on Tuesday evening, several residents —including local businessmen and women—said they did not feel Monifieth had experienced any kind of financial boost and the local council had missed an opportunity to promote the town.

Ian Mortimer, who chairs Monifieth Community Partnership, said, “We’ve been feeling a long time now that we’ve been left on the sidelines and not been getting our just rewards.

“We benefited very little from the Open. The hotels and boarding houses didn’t do too badly, but the general feeling was that the people of Monifieth got nothing from the Championships but disruption.”

The former Monifieth provost and councillor said the town was used as a kind of passing point for those travelling to Carnoustie, and vehicles weren’t even given the opportunity to go along the High Street as they were being diverted to ease congestion.

He also expressed concern at the seemingly sparse distribution of leaflets advertising Monifieth’s attractions. “There were going to be leaflets put out for the whole of Angus about the Open, but very few people saw these—I certainly haven’t seen one to this day,” Mr Mortimer said.

“Lots of people feel Monifieth has been passed between Dundee and Angus like a football. Because of that, nobody will spend any money on it.

“We’ve been trying to get a community hall for years and we can’t even get a site or proper funding, we don’t have any leisure facilities like a swimming pool and we feel as though we’re being neglected. We desperately need a place where the community can gather and hold events but we don’t seem to be progressing.”

He added, “We were looking forward to the Open and the tourism it would bring to Monifieth, but it was just an anti-climax.”

An Angus Council spokeswoman said the Open had been a tremendous success for Angus. “An economic impact study is being undertaken and, although it is too early to give figures, we estimate the net economic impact to the region is around £20 million. The value of the global media coverage surrounding the event is around £40 million,” she said.

“In the run-up to the Open, the council offered support to local businesses and communities in a number of ways including a new grant scheme offering local community groups and small businesses funding up to £500 for environmental improvement projects—39 grants were awarded to applicants throughout Angus.

“Monifieth received three grants, for work at the Royal British Legion, House of Memories and Ladies Panmure Golf Club. In addition to the usual environmental maintenance, the claret jug was featured in a floral display in Monifieth. The championship course at Monifieth was heavily promoted as part of the Carnoustie Country marketing campaign.”