Aberdeenshire councillors resign from harbours committee after budget cuts
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Two councillors have resigned from a committee aimed at protecting Aberdeenshire’s harbours after saying budget cuts have left their roles “untenable”.
SNP members Dawn Black and Ross Cassie left the group after Aberdeenshire Council’s administration announced it would cut back on repair work across the region’s ports.
The move was agreed yesterday as councillors set the budget for the year ahead – along with cuts aimed at plugging a £35.45m gap.
The local authority argued the cut to ports was needed to tackle construction inflation.
It would also save around £136,000 over the next year.
But to help combat this, the council says it will look at increasing harbour dues in order to meet projected levels of income.
Ms Black revealed that vital maintenance works priced at around £400,000 were due to take place at Macduff Harbour later this year.
However, this budget has now been slashed and all of the essential repairs won’t be carried out leaving the port at serious risk.
Meanwhile, reactive repair work was scheduled for Stonehaven Harbour following the recent storms.
But now there isn’t enough money in the budget for this work.
Ms Black and Mr Cassie wrote to committee chairman John Cox after the crucial four-hour meeting to announce their “immediate” resignations.
By leaving, the councillors also give up their roles as duty holders.
Duty holders work under the Port Marine Safety Code on behalf of Aberdeenshire Council by ensuring the harbours are safe to operate.
They inform council officers if any operational matters arise and work to develop, approve and review council policy that meets the code.
But councillor Black felt the budget decision was made without any consideration to the duty holders and the Port Marine Safety Code.
She said: “I am no longer willing to accept the responsibility of duty holder in Aberdeenshire Council and have the potential of litigation as a result of negligence due to these budget cuts.
“Vital infrastructure upgrades, advised as necessary for basic levels of safety by the professional officers in the Harbours team have been ignored.”
Ms Black also noted that the harbour budget is shared with coastal flooding, meaning there will be even less support for the region’s ports.
The Stonehaven councillor slammed the “shortsighted” decision to reduce harbour works and raised concern it would lead to greater costs in the years to come.
She added: “Any failures of harbour infrastructure may or may not result in injury, damage or even loss of business to those vessels stuck in harbours blocked in by such failures resulting in multi lawsuits from those businesses.
“In my mind this amounts to negligence on the part of the Aberdeenshire Council Administration and I cannot be party to that.”
Fellow SNP councillor Ross Cassie also raised his fears about the funding cut to harbours during yesterday’s meeting which he branded an “annual salami slicing fest”.
He suggested the cuts and scaling back of work was a “false economy” and highlighted the need for work at Macduff’s “crumbling” port along with Stonehaven.
He added: “With the rapid race through the alphabet of named storms in this season, our already underfunded harbour infrastructure is constantly being pounded.
“It will cost a lot more to rebuild than maintain properly.”
However, Mr Cox hoped elected members could work together to bring the harbours back to their best.
While he didn’t comment on the resignations, he said the council needed to take a more commercial and strategic look at its ports.
He said the region’s harbours would play a “vital and important role” with ongoing renewable energy developments along the coast.
The Banff councillor noted income had been lost due to the traditional fishing ports becoming unsuitable for modern boats.
But he believes tourists could be key to reviving the harbours.
Mr Cox explained: “There is the opportunity to look at other areas in our smaller ports to attract marine tourism.
“That’s anything from boat trips along our fantastic coastline to attracting the yachting fraternity from Scandinavian countries.
“Harbours are gateways into the north-east of Scotland and we need to capitalise on that.
“A lack of investment can only be achieved by increasing the use, generating income, making them more commercial and maximising opportunities there are with offshore renewables.”
Mr Cox also revealed that he is in talks with council officers to look at the proposed repair works.
