A BID to make repairs worth nearly £400,000 to Arbroath’s landmark Keptie Hill water tower an Angus Council budget priority has failed.

Councillor Bob Spink’s plea to push the project into the coming year’s spending plan fell by the slimmest of margins after Provost Ruth Leslie Melville used her casting vote to sink it.

A recent draft conservation report found that more than £51,500 should be spent on work needed as soon as possible in the interests of public safety, plus a further £326,238 on necessary works, which should be carried out within the next five years, to halt deterioration.

Consultants say another £535,623 could be spent on areas such as re-roofing the building, making the total cost of bringing the tower up to a standard where it could be considered for alternative uses £914,415.

Mr Spink, addressing the ruling alliance after it had made the replacement of Montrose Swimming Pool a priority, said, “If you can afford £10 million for a pool, surely you can afford £1 million for the preservation of Arbroath’s built heritage.”

He had suggested efforts be made to lift the 124-year-old tower’s B-listed status to an A listing, in a bid to open up funding avenues.

Mr Spink withdrew this after fears were voiced it could tie the council’s hands over potential future uses for the tower.

Councillors, however, welcomed the spending of £5500 on urgent public safety works at the tower.

On the casting vote of the provost, the full council opted to wait for future reports to be provided to committee in response to the consultants’ finalised paper on the tower.