A bid is being mounted to get Brechin heritage railway’s multi-million pound Levelling Up Fund application back on track.
Last month, Angus councillors voted not to back a Caledonian Railway submission for £18 million of UK government cash.
The railway’s plans include infrastructure, training and tourism initiatives.
It forecast a successful bid could increase Angus tourism spending by £20m in five years.
But the plan divided councillors, with the casting vote of the Angus Provost deciding the outcome.
Authority leader Beth Whiteside said it would be a “dereliction of duty” to expose the financially-strapped council to the risk of the plans not being delivered in time.
Angus has yet to secure any LUF cash after missing out last year.
Call for special meeting
Now, opposition councillors on the SNP-run authority have asked for a special council meeting to re-consider the Caley bid.
Brechin Independent Jill Scott lodged the request with the council’s legal director on Wednesday.
She’s secured the seven signatures required under council rules to request a special meeting.
Ms Scott believes there is still time for Angus to bid since the funding application portal is yet to open.
And the railway has scaled back its proposal to seven projects totalling £9.6m.
“I don’t want to say more and put myself in a position of not being able to properly support Caledonian Railway’s bid at a special meeting,” she said.
“But at full council I said I believe the railway is an amazing asset to Brechin and Angus.
“I hope we can find a way of having further full debate on this new proposal.
“Hopefully the chance of millions of pounds of funding coming to Angus is not lost.”
Railway chairman’s confidence in proposal
Caley Railway chairman Jon Gill hopes a special meeting will be the platform to allay any concerns councillors still have.
“I just didn’t feel we had the opportunity to properly address any of the concerns which emerged at the full council meeting,” he said.
“To get ten minutes in a six-hour council meeting is not the proper way to try and lay out an £18m proposal.
“We have no concerns about deliverability or risk.
“I am prepared to answer as many questions for as long as councillors want to ask me them,” he said.
Angus opposition group leader Derek Wann said: “We believe there were two factors behind the council’s decision not to support the Caley bid – lack of time and a perception about risk.
“But new evidence and a revised bid have emerged, which should help councillors with any anxiety.
“It also looks like there could be an extension to the process which gives us – and the officers – more time to evaluate strategically critical investment for Angus.
“Time is still of the essence.
“I sincerely hope we can bring the administration with us on this, and we can all do what’s right by this project.”
Petition
Mr Gill revealed the award-winning 40-year-old heritage group is also launching a national petition to try and prevent smaller councils like Angus from losing out.
“The Levelling Up Fund was designed to fix economic differences between different parts of the UK that directly affect people’s lives,” he said.
“But the terms and conditions of grants mean some smaller councils can’t accept the risk associated with the grant, resulting in greater deprivation.
“That’s distorting the process with more grants to affluent areas increasing inequality.
“So in fact it’s having the opposite effect of what it was set up to do.
“We want the UK Government to review the terms and conditions which places all the risks on councils.
“Well-managed projects that may be affected by unpredictable market supply conditions should not be further penalised.”
Conversation