The chairman of Montrose Community Council has hit out at the level of apathy in the town following the collapse of the group due to lack of members.
“It appears people in Montrose are just not interested in the affairs of their town or just not prepared to put in any effort to try and get a better deal for it,” said Tommy Stewart venting his frustration.
“The community council is an important tier of democracy, and it is disappointing we have been forced into abeyance because we haven’t got enough members for a quorum.
“I know plenty of people here with plenty to complain about.
“But it seems they would rather air their points of view writing anonymously to the local newspaper than put their heads above the parapet, and do something constructive like coming to our meetings and putting their views directly to the local councillors.”
He said it had been a struggle for months to get a quorum for meetings with only six members.
Five required to be present in order to conduct a meeting and that had proved difficult due to the enforced absences of nightshift worker David Gardiner.
Last month’s meeting had been unable to proceed due to insufficient numbers, said Mr Stewart, and efforts to recruit new members had proved fruitless.
“We have made numerous appeals for people to come forward. We have tried to get young people on board and even had a meeting with the rector of Montrose Academy.
“We followed that up with a letter but three weeks have past now and we’ve heard nothing. I’ve lost count of the emails we’ve sent out and letters trying to get people interested.”
He said there were numerous issues in the town that needed urgently to be addressed such as the “disgraceful” condition of the Town Hall.
“The Town House, library and museum have all had essential items of repair approved by the corporate services committee of Angus Council. But there is no word of the Town Hall.
“The paint is flaking and the front of the stage is like a burst couch with the doors not closing properly.
“For goodness sake. This venue should be our showpiece, and could bring in a lot more revenue. I know people are concerned but they just don’t seem prepared to try to do anything other than sound off about it.”
The decision to go into recess was made following an emergency meeting held to discuss the way forward.
“There was no other option,” said Mr Stewart, who has now advised Angus Council of his wish to resign from the position of chairman.
“Due to work commitments which were making it impossible for him to attend meetings, Mr Gardiner decided to resign. That left us with five members, all of whom would have to attend all the meetings if we were to continue.”
A spokeswoman for Angus Council said: “We are aware that Montrose Community Council is currently having difficulties meeting its quorum for meetings.
“We have agreed that they will not hold any formal meetings until June when we will review the situation. Meantime the local community planning team will work with the community council to launch a membership drive.
“We have recently had a similar experience in Strathmartine where work by the local community succeeded in bringing the community council up to full membership after three months in abeyance.”
Anyone who is interested in joining Montrose Community Council can email BrechinLCPT@angus.gov.uk.