Snowdrop-In Coffee Morning

Temporary traffic order

I have been advised that due to Virgin Media duct laying works being carried out, vehicular traffic will be prohibited in Balgillo Road East, between Rossie Avenue and A92 Arbroath Road, from Tuesday 9 February 2016 for 5 working days. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained. Alternative routes are available via A92 Arbroath Road / Balgillo Road.

Never-ending potholes

In recent weeks the majority of general concerns raised with me, unsurprisingly given the wet weather, relate to potholes and ponding at blocked kerbside gullies in various locations.

 

Potholes cause problems for all road users - motorists, cyclists and pedestrians and there really needs to be better investment to ensure lasting repairs can be made, rather than seeing the same potholes being filled every few weeks. I’m hopeful that some of the roads and pavements I have highlighted to the roads maintenance partnership recently as needing attention will receive more permanent repairs during the next financial year.

 

This example in Traill Street is typical, large potholes and loose material that needs to be swept up. I have reported this location to the roads maintenance partnership.

Pavement repair needed

 I have been asked by residents of the Shiell Court sheltered housing development if something could be done to improve the surface of the pavement on Monifieth Road from the top of Shiell Street to the bus stop. Due to previous patching over the years it has become very uneven and really needs some attention to eliminate any possible trip hazards.

 

Other sections of pavement in the area have been renewed in recent years yet this section has still to be taken care of.  I have approached the council about it and hopefully this will result in some work being done.

 

 

Path to nature reserve

A number of people have mentioned to me that they were pleased to see that the council has improved the path from Shiell Street to the railway footbridge that crosses into the Broughty Ferry Local Nature Reserve.

 

In previous years I have had to contact Network Rail about keeping the bridge free of weeds as I know this is a popular route for people walking down to The Esplanade. There was considerable growth at one stage!

 

Although the path has been attended to here, there are still many other paths and footways in the area that could do with some surface treatment and I will continue to request that they are attended to as well.

Council committee meeting

Last night’s Policy and Resources Committee considered the local government financial settlement for 2016/2017 and the financial implications for the city council.

I supported an amendment that would have resulted in the chief executive writing to the deputy first minister to express concern at the funding allocations for 2016/17 and requesting that he review the position with a view to increasing local government revenue and capital funding allocations.

The report in front of the committee from the council’s director of corporate services noted that the Scottish budget shows that for 2016/17 the year-on-year cash increase is £0.5 billion (1.7%), which represents a standstill budget in real terms, yet the local government grant settlement for 2016/17 reflects an overall cash cut at national level of £350 million or 3.5% and for Dundee City Council this means that to achieve a balanced budget, £23 million of savings need to be identified. It is clear that the SNP run government is underfunding local government.

Interestingly, an amendment which was tabled by the Labour Group but not selected by the SNP convenor for consideration expressed concern about the impact on services and made the point that: ‘this  is all because of policy choices from Scottish Government and not as a result of cuts from Westminster’.

There are always efficiencies that can be made and better ways of delivering services that generate a saving without impacting negatively on service users, but the scale of the saving that has to be made by the council in a single year is monumental.

The SNP mantra of blaming Westminster for cuts no longer stands up to scrutiny. If the Scottish Government is not satisfied with the outcome of the Westminster spending review it now has the ability to increase the resources available to it by levying additional taxes but the SNP chose not to. Some councillors argued last night for an increase in taxation but I don't support that view as I don’t think people living in Scotland should pay higher taxes than those living elsewhere in the UK. The Scottish Government ought to be able to properly fund local government from its existing resources.

 

The amendment requesting the deputy first minster to review the position was supported by all opposition councillors but was defeated by the SNP majority.

Perseverance pays off

As a councillor I always try to get a positive outcome to constituent enquiries as quickly as possible, but sometimes a matter comes up that takes a while to resolve- and these nearly always are what ought to be the simplest of issues to action. 

 

For example, during the last couple of years I have been trying to get Royal Mail to remove a redundant grey pouch box on Dundee Road near to the junction with Home Street. Local residents had expressed concern about it and it was considered that removing it would improve the line of sight for vehicles emerging from Home Street.

 

To cut a long story short, I contacted Royal Mail’s customer service team about it many times, as did Dundee City Council, as did local residents. On four occasions I was advised that a works order to have it removed had been placed with contractors yet the box still remained stubbornly in place. Before Christmas, in exasperation, I wrote to Moya Green, the chief executive of Royal Mail, asking for her assistance and I’m pleased to report that the box was removed earlier this week. The pictures show what was there before and what isn’t there now!

Campaigning activity

 

 

Following my Saturday morning surgeries and home visits I met up with some members of the Dundee Conservative campaign team in the West End to help deliver leaflets for Nicola Ross, who is the Scottish Conservative candidate in the Dundee City West constituency for May’s Scottish Parliament election. We managed to get a good amount of the area covered before the rain came on.

BBC Radio Scotland "The Big Debate" programme

I received a note from BBC Radio Scotland about "The Big Debate" programme which will be at Dundee Contemporary Arts on Friday 15^th January.

 

People can apply to be in the audience via an online booking form http://bbc.in/1Al9Rpx , by email bigdebate@bbc.co.uk or by calling BBC Radio Scotland on 0141 422 7773. Tickets are free.  Audience members should be seated by 11.30. Full details below.

 

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE PART OF THE BIG DEBATE WITH GORDON BREWER IN DUNDEE?

 

WHERE: Dundee Contemporary Arts, Nethergate, Dundee DD1 4DY

 

WHEN: Friday 15^th January, 2016

 

TIMES: Doors open at the venue at 11:15am, show is on air from 12pm - 1pm

 

BOOK: Click on link to online booking form: http://bbc.in/1Al9Rpx or phone 0141 422 7773 or email bigdebate@bbc.co.uk

 

Former Newsnight presenter Gordon Brewer is the host of The Big Debate.

 

Every Friday the programme visits a different part of Scotland to discuss the big issues of the week. Gordon will be joined by a panel of speakers from the world of Politics, Arts, Science, Business and other areas of public life. But we want you - the audience - to pose the questions.

 

We look for questions on the most stimulating moral, political and social issues of the day - the current issues that will get people talking. So the programme gives YOU the opportunity to challenge politicians, policy makers, writers and thinkers.

 

Questions should be brief and to the point if possible and should be on something that’s been reported in the news. As the programme broadcasts to a Scotland wide audience, we look for issues that raise matters of genuine national and international interest and remember to keep an eye on the newspapers. Once you know what you want to ask, email your question to us at bigdebate@bbc.co.uk by 5.30pm, Thursday 14th January. Please be aware we’re not able to guarantee that all questions will be used.

 

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU IN DUNDEE ON FRIDAY 15th JANUARY!