Aberdeenshire Council’s senior financial adviser yesterday pledged that north-east towns will not miss out on more than £1million of vital regeneration funds.
Fears had been raised that Peterhead, Fraserburgh, Banff and Macduff would miss out on £1.2million of funding, which was due to be spent by the end of the authority’s 2014-15 financial year on March 31.
Only £3,000 of the overall amount had been spent on revamping the towns by the local authority between April and December 2014.
The council has since allocated another £400,000 from the remaining pot in a last-ditch bid to spend the funds before the deadline.
However, on April 1 all unspent money will go back into the council’s reserves.
The news prompted an angry backlash from north-east councillors, who said the authority had not acted quickly enough and the regeneration project had “faltered”.
However at yesterday’s policy and resources committee, members were assured that the towns would still be able to access funding for regeneration work in the next financial year.
Aberdeenshire Council’s head of finance, Alan Wood, said: “Any monies that are not spent by the year end will be retained.
“All projects will be available to continue.
“We have money in resources in regards to this issue. That money will be available, coming back through this committee.”
Vice-chairman of the committee, Martin Kitts-Hayes, said: “Money will be returned to reserves. This money is not being lost.”
Fraserburgh councillor Brian Topping said: “I am delighted that the money is safeguarded. It is certainly good news, we haven’t been given that in the past.
“Various improvements are ongoing to give the town a boost. It is a case of looking at our historic buildings and supporting our businesses and there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes to make the best of the finances put our way.
“I am delighted, and of course for Macduff, Peterhead and Banff as well. I think the coastal areas do need a massive boost.”