Council bosses have been accused of “sticking two fingers up at Carnoustie” after rubbishing a plan to reinstate a waste dump in south Angus.
Independent Carnoustie councillors David Cheape and Brian Boyd made a “behind the scenes” approach to win cash for a full suite of waste disposal facilities in Thursday’s upcoming council budget.
They argue Carnoustie and Monifieth are the only parts of Angus without a “residual waste facility”, forcing residents to drive to Arbroath and beyond to dump waste as the local centre is recycling only and residents are not allowed to use Dundee City Council facilities.
The pair said the sitting administration of Independent and Conservative councillors had invited them to “engender a spirit of working together”.
Councillor Cheape said the short term plan to restore the facility would have cost £26,415, funded from a 0.05% increase in council tax or from council funds.
Between £200 to £250,000 would be required in future to fully bring the yard up to standard, he added.
He said the administration had turned down their “just and fair” offer.
Cllr Cheape said: “They refused to understand the need for fairness and uniformity across the localities.
“So much for a new spirit of working together. More like sticking two fingers up at Carnoustie yet again.”
Councillor Boyd accused the administration of paying “lip service”.
“They continue to bury their heads in the sand, pigheadedly not listening to anyone.
“The good people of Angus will have the chance to vote on their record in 2022 but in the meantime they continue to ruin Angus,” he added.
When asked about the Carnoustie councillors’ approach at a pre-budget briefing on Monday, deputy leader Angus Macmillan Douglas said:
“We took a lot of time to work out our policy on recycling as a whole. It has two objectives. It has the environmental objective and also financial savings.
The savings come from the cost of disposing of a ton of waste into recycling against a ton of waste into incineration,” he added.
