Unpopular Recycling Decision to be Reversed

On Monday night the Council will be asked to reverse an unpopular and impractical decision. In February the SNP administration reorganised the three major recycling centres at Riverside, Marchbanks and Baldovie as part of their budget cuts. Marchbanks was closed completely and garden waste was only to be accepted at the Riverside recycling depot and certain items of general waste were only to be accepted at Baldovie. This meant that many householders found they had a much longer drive to a recycling depot; for example, in the Ferry this meant a cross city drive to Riverside Drive if dumping garden waste. Worse still was the prospect of having very lengthy round trips to deposit say garden waste at Riverside and then certain items of general waste at Badovie. For householders this was an expensive and inconvenient decision and to be construed as "green", as the Council claimed, stretched credibility with the public. 

I shall be pleased to support the proposed change of heart on Monday night as far as it goes; reversing the limitations on Riverside and Baldovie. I know many constituents in The Ferry will be relieved they can revert to depositing all their recycling, including garden waste, at Baldovie.

Mounting Cost of Not Spending a Penny in Broughty Ferry

Automated public convenience still not working 1st November 

In March when our award winning staffed public toilets in the Queen Street Car park were closed as part of the cuts, we were promised that there would be a replacement Automated Public Convenience (APC) in place for summer visitors.


Work to install the automated public convenience did not however begin until the end of August. On Tuesday, more than two months later, a trench is finally being dug in the car park for the water and drainage connection to the automated public convenience. But as the APC has been on site and partially installed since the end of August, I presume our public money has been wasted paying the leasing charges while it can't be used. 

I have written to David Dorward, the Council's Chief Executive, to clarify the responsibility for the lengthening delay to 'spend a penny'  and the mounting cost to council tax of paying for a facility that has not yet been fully installed. 

Ken Guild, Leader of the Council and also a Broughty Ferry Councillor, can hardly feel flushed with success from this initiative.

Wait Nearly Over For Spending A 'Penny'

Work has commenced in the Queen Street car park on the installation of an Automated Public Convenience (APC) which is due to open by the middle of September. 


This single unit will replace the former staffed public toilets which were closed nearly five months ago at the end of March.


Unfortunately the former award winning staffed public toilets in the car park were a victim of the SNP led Council's cuts in local public services.


The opening of this Automated Public Toilet will bring to an end this gap in public convenience provision in central Broughty Ferry. 


I hope users of this new facility will find it an adequate replacement.

Questions Remain About Transfer of Broughty Ferry Library

In Thursday's Evening Telegraph and Friday's Courier, I raised issues about the proposed transfer of management of our library in Broughty Ferry to an arms length, Leisure and Cultural Services Trust.

Please can the Leader of the Council, Ken Guild, respond to the issues I have raised and not deflect these as 'obscure political points'?

Firstly, why has his administration chosen not to set up a new arms length organisation specifically for libraries and museums? This arms length body will require a majority of independent and unpaid board
members. If it focuses just on Libraries and Museums it's not difficult to imagine appropriately qualified volunteers coming forward. But lumping in all of Dundee Leisure's empire of sports halls, pitches and swimming pools doesn't to my mind add up into a coherent set of activities. I think it will lead to a divided board between those with sports and those with cultural interests. The option of a stand alone charitable 'cultural organisation' to manage libraries, museums and the Caird Hall is dismissed in one paragraph (para 6.2 page 105) in the
Committee Report for the budget meeting next week. This is hardly an option appraisal.

Secondly, I am also worried that the external legal advice to be sought by the council is only to determine ensuring:
'(1) maximistation of financial savings to the council;
(2) protection for the staff being transferred.' (para 6.3 page 105)

What about the protection of book borrowing and reading provided 'free' at the point of use? This seems like another example of short term cuts and long term damage to local services.

Maybe Councillor Guild can whip his SNP group to vote this through at the Budget meeting on Thursday 10 February, but if won't mean he has won the argument in the Ferry. If he barges ahead, folk in the Ferry may want to examine the terms of the 1913 Boundaries Act. If, like me, they see their library under threat, they may want to use the law to push for another option that adequately protects their library for the future.

Broughty Ferry deserves better.

The Effect of Reduced Teacher Numbers on Children's Education in Dundee

I am very concerned about the negative effect on children's education of the £4.3 million cuts in Education that the SNP are introducing in their budget for Dundee Schools for April 2011 - March 2012.

By requesting this item is placed on the agenda of the Education Committee on Monday, I have provided the only opportunity for the Education Committee to consider the impact of these changes before they are considered at the Budget meeting of the Policy & Resources Committee in February.

I think the most likely effect of their package of cuts will be a end to the improving exam results in Dundee Schools, maybe some slipping back in performance. This is to be regretted , especially at a time when exam grades will be so important for school leavers as they compete for places at college and university or for their first job.

I hope the Education Committee, will send the Education Convener to think again.

Blue Flag Status Flushed Away?

The proposed closure of the staffed public toilets in the Queen Street Car park could be another factor that prevents Broughty Ferry qualifying for the coveted Blue Flag award for our beach. Its replacement by an automatic unstaffed toilet will not I think easily convince Blue Flag judging panels that it is an adequate replacement.

The following Blue Flag beach criteria are clear:

• An adequate number of toilet or restroom facilities must be provided and
  
  
• The toilet or restroom facilities must be kept clean.

(Extracted from Blue Flag Beach Criteria).

Apart from flushing away our chances of regaining any prestigious Flag for our beach, Broughty Ferry will also lose the informal surveillance of the car park, the mini recycling centre and the station platforms currently supplied by the toilet attendants.

I think Ferry Councillor Guild, also the SNP's Leader of the Council, should think again about this item in his budget proposals.