Campaigning

After my surgeries this morning I joined some of the local Scottish Conservative activists on a walkabout leaflet drop. We spent our time talking to shoppers in Dundee city centre, Perth Road and Brook Street in Broughty Ferry. People were very pleased to chat and to offer their support to Ruth Davidson and her strong Scottish Conservative team.

£20m a year to fix potholes

In its 2016/17 budget, Dundee City Council’s SNP administration transferred £746,000 of roads and street lighting expenditure to the council’s capital budget and further reduced the revenue budget for roads maintenance by £339,000. Which means Dundee now has less money to spend on repairing potholes.

 

The state of our roads and pavements is one of the top issues raised with me and 80 per cent of Scottish drivers say they've had to swerve to avoid a pothole in recent weeks, which is higher than the UK average. I was therefore pleased to learn that Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, has given a commitment that she would tackle Scotland's potholes by investing £20 million a year on the issue. £100 million would be set aside in a Roads Maintenance Fund over the term of the next Scottish Parliament. The UK Government invests tens of millions in a specific pothole fund, but this is not currently replicated in Scotland.

 

It is anticipated that the additional funds would help fill nearly two million potholes over the next five years. Council’s would identify how many potholes they needed to fill and then apply to the fund for the cash.

Take Pride in Your City events- May

Getting things done

 

In an earlier post last month, I reported that the car park at the Dunnottar Place entrance to Dawson Park was very uneven, with a lot of dips in it. Having raised the matter with the council’s Neighbourhood Services Department I was advised that consideration would be given to dealing with it in the new financial year. On a recent visit to the park I noticed that this has now been actioned.

Upcoming environmental events late April

By-election triumph for Scottish Conservatives

Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party news release

A council by-election victory for the Scottish Conservatives in Perth and Kinross has been hailed by leader Ruth Davidson. Scottish Conservative candidate Kathleen Baird won 48.5 per cent of the vote, a remarkable 18.4 per cent increase on the 2012 local authority poll. The SNP got 38.4 per cent to finish in second in the Almond and Earn poll, while Labour were a distant third with just 6.3 per cent. It represents a Conservative gain in the ward, and is the latest in a series of council by-elections where the party has recorded a notable increase in the vote.

 

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said: "This is a great result and all credit to our team on the ground who worked hard to deliver our message. This is just the latest in a string of by-elections where our vote has increased significantly.

“People across Scotland recognise that we need a strong opposition and the Scottish Conservatives are best placed to provide it. Voters know that we will hold the SNP to account, look after family finances and always stand up for Scotland's place in the UK.  We are heading for our best ever Holyrood result in May and this victory over the SNP in Almond and Earn shows just how special an election this could be."

Broughty Ferry Community Council AGM

Temporary traffic order

I have been advised that due to telecommunications upgrade works being carried out the driving of any vehicle will be prohibited in a southbound direction in Seafield Road from its junction with house number 16 Seafield Road, to the north side of its junction with Camperdown Street, a distance of approximately 100 metres, from Monday 11th April 2016 for 5 working days. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained. Alternative routes for vehicles are available via Seafield Road, Davidson Street, Claypotts Road, Queen Street.

Reres Hill

After my drop in surgeries and home visits on Saturday I stopped off at Reres Hill to have a look at the works recently carried out by the council’s environment department. A lot of shrubbery that had overgrown the paths has been cut back and the route to the top of the hill has been cleared and is much easier to get to now. Broughty Ferry Development Trust, of which I am a committee member, is working with the council to make improvements at Reres Hill and to restore some of its features. The aim of the development trust is to enhance and maintain the historical and environmental features of Broughty Ferry which makes Reres Hill a good project to be involved with.

 

Reres Hill was purchased by Broughty Ferry Police Burgh in 1868 to be used as a pleasure ground and place of public resort and recreation. In 1887 improvements to the park were agreed to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria including a new wall on the Monifieth Road side of the park with iron railings and three gates, one at each end of the park  and a central main archway. These were paid for by James Guthrie Orchar, Provost of Broughty Ferry from 1886 to 1898, and a great benefactor to the City of Dundee and the Burgh of Broughty Ferry. Two years later he purchased the land south of Reres Hill and established New Park or Orchar Park as it is now known.

Maryfield by-election

Dundee Conservatives news release

 

Scottish Conservatives in Dundee have pledged to build on the Maryfield by-election result to boost the party's fortunes at the ballot box in May.  The Tories increased their share of the vote by more than 3% while Labour's vote collapsed by 13% and the Lib Dems also dropped off the 2012 total.

 

The result reflects national polling which has shown continually that the real battle in the Holyrood election will be between the Scottish Conservatives and Labour for second place.  Leader Ruth Davidson has said that the party will stand against any plans for a second referendum and put forward a positive vision for the future of the country with low taxes, more powers for school leaders and increased investment in our NHS in line with England.

 

 Scottish Conservative candidate for Dundee City East, Bill Bowman, said: "We take positives from the increase in our share of the vote, which reflects a pattern we are seeing of a growing support for the Scottish Conservatives to be the main opposition to hold the SNP to account.

 

 "We are seeing swingeing cuts to local authority budgets, an obsession with another independence referendum and internal convulsions over tax policy within the SNP. Labour, meanwhile, are imploding. 

 

 "The Scottish Conservatives stand ready to fight for the two million people who voted No and to work to repair the damage that has been done in our education and health sectors.

 

"Spending on the NHS must be brought into line with that in England - we have seen a real terms increase of just over 1% in Scotland compared with nearly 7% south of the border. Similarly, our call to give more power to school leaders, who are best placed to make decisions on education, would be one way of improving the current system."