The Scottish Government is “passing the buck” on coastal erosion problems plaguing Montrose, a Conservative MP has claimed.
Angus MP Kirstene Hair believes Scottish Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham is leaving the issue for Angus Council to deal with, instead of granting additional support.
The cabinet minister however said she believes local councils are being treated “very fairly”, adding the Scottish Government is making £42 million available each year to help local authorities invest in flood protection schemes.
Problems in the town were first identified around 20 years ago with ravaging tides having left the area around Montrose golf links badly scarred.
Some of the 455-year-old course has fallen into the sea despite significant work to halt the dunes from further erosion, with a number of solutions to the problem currently being considered.
Ms Hair said it is unreasonable to expect the local authority to cope on its own.
She said: “Angus Council simply cannot afford to tackle this problem alone at a time when the SNP government is slashing its budget.
“The local authority is making savings across the board to cope with the current shortfall in funding, and the picture for future years looks very bleak indeed.
“Roseanna Cunningham saw and heard for herself the potential impact that flooding could have during the recent Cabinet visit to Montrose.
“The level of erosion risks not only the historic golf links, but the town of Montrose itself. It is not good enough for the Cabinet Secretary to simply pass the buck onto the council at a time of swingeing cuts to local budgets.”
Further work is still needed to curb erosion, with the cost of suggested remedial work in the Montrose area expected to run into the millions.
Solutions suggested include a beach recharge scheme in which sand dredged from the South Esk would be placed directly on to the beach to help build it up again.
Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Roseanna Cunningham, said reducing flood risk is a priority for the Scottish Government.
She said: “Last month I visited Montrose to see the impact that coastal erosion is having in that area.
“We are making £42 million available each year to help local authorities invest in flood protection schemes.
“In particular, Angus Council is about to commission a flood study for Montrose which will consider the role of erosion and flood risk to the area.
“The Scottish Government has treated local government very fairly, in spite of the UK Government’s significant cuts to the Scottish Budget. This year alone, the overall increase in spending power to support local authority services amounts to almost £400 million or 3.7%.”
