Brechin’s Caledonian Railway says it will leave behind the frustration of missing out on a potential multi-million pound Levelling Up bonanza to work harder than ever on the attraction’s future success.
But an MSP has said Angus’ failure to bid for the UK Government cash will “haunt this council for years to come”.
Dundee and Fife are celebrating after the announcement of major awards for innovative projects under the funding scheme.
It includes cash for a £15 million green travel hub in the heart of Dundee.
And almost £20 million will go towards a Glenrothes regeneration initiative.
Major Angus disappointment
Massive windfalls for other areas have sour taste in the mouth of the volunteer-run Angus attraction after councillors failed to back their bid.
Caley Railway chairman Jon Gill says the Queen’s Award-winning organisation is committed to focusing on the future.
“Of course it is massively disappointing – and incredibly frustrating – to see Angus miss out completely,” he said.
“We always believed we had a very strong business case and this is a massive missed opportunity.
“We’ve a range of really good projects we want to do and will press on with those – but on a smaller scale than what Levelling Up would have allowed us to achieve.
“And we will continue dialogue with Angus Council, because if there is a chance of a third round of Levelling Up we cannot let another chance slip by.”
What went wrong for the Brechin bid?
The charity initially put an £18m proposal to Angus Council – which owns the railway the preservation society has run for 40 years.
It included ideas around training opportunities, infrastructure and transport.
The Caley hoped a winning bid could boost Angus tourism spending by £20m within five years.
Their forecasts are based on the success of events like the Polar Express experience and summer hits such as Days Out with Thomas.
The Polar Express more than doubled passenger numbers in only its second year to carry 10,000 people over the festive period.
Angus officials said the Levelling Up risks were too great.
So the railway drew up a revised £9.6m submission, but it too was rejected.
But the attraction – the second biggest tourist draw in Angus after Glamis Castle – got the small consolation of a £170k grant from another council fund to replace the platform canopy at the historic station.
Mr Gill added: “It’s a real shame we have ended up where we are.
“There has to be a strategic alignment with Angus Council so we don’t find ourselves in this situation again.”
Lacking imagination
North East region Scottish Conservative MSP Liam Kerr said: “Councils across Scotland were told to ‘be bold’ with their bids, and that approach will see £212m pumped into local authority areas for innovative, game-changing projects.
“Not in Angus, though.
“Some of these bids had less time to prepare their business case, and may very well have more risk attached.
“Every one of them however had the same risks about building cost increases and the like.
“Brechin needed this and got a small consolation a couple of weeks later, as if to say sorry.
“I think that failure of the imagination will haunt this council for years to come.”
Council’s underwriting fears
Angus Council said: “For Brechin Caledonian Railway, a decision was taken not to progress with the application (at our June full council meeting)for the Levelling Up Fund application to UK Government due to the significant level of financial risk it exposed Angus Council to.
“To be clear, it is the council that would be fully responsible for underwriting this project and that could have impacted on other areas of service delivery to communities in Angus.
“Given the information presented to us and timescales, it has not been possible to reduce that risk.”
Conversation