SNP Budget Proposals Prompt Action to Tackle Flooding Issues

SNP Councillors have welcomed moves to update Aberdeenshire Councillors on the works which have been carried out since December's flood damage.

The SNP Commented after it was announced that an update on the work carried out so far and plans for the future would be delivered to members of the Council's Policy and Resources Committee next Thursday (28 February).

Aberdeenshire's SNP Group's alternative budget, which proposed allocating an additional £2 million in funding towards the cost of repairs, was voted down by the ruling 'Aberdeenshire Alliance' coalition of Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Independents and Labour at last week's budget setting meeting.

Commenting, an SNP Group Spokesperson said:

“Aberdeenshire Council workers, together with their colleagues in the emergency services, did a superb job in the aftermath of December's flooding.

“The damage done to these communities was extreme and not for the first time, residents will be very interested to know what is being proposed by the Council to get things back to normal.

“It is not fair or right to ask communities to wait years for flood defence schemes to be put in place. What residents want is action now to ensure the chances of future flooding is kept to a minimum”

“The recent news that the Maritime Rescue Unit in Stonehaven is to close is also a serious concern as the MRI staff were a huge help in the rescue operation in Stonehaven”

“With Aberdeenshire Council's year end underspend now predicted to be £26 million, allocating some of this towards flood alleviation efforts would clearly be the right thing to do.”