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Moray grass petition now signed by 1364 people


By Alistair Whitfield

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Volunteers cutting the grass at the Doocot Park in Elgin.
Volunteers cutting the grass at the Doocot Park in Elgin.

Within the past 48 hours a total of 1364 people have signed a petition asking Moray Council to start cutting the grass again.

The Conservative Party launched the petition on Monday calling on a re-think over February's budget decision to drastically reduce cutting on council-owned land.

Jamie Halcro Johnson, the MSP whose Highland and Islands constituency includes Moray, said: "Long grass is an ideal habitat for ticks and, with the recent damp weather, there’s concern we may see an explosion in their numbers.

"That could pose an increased risk of Lyme Disease being spread by infected ticks to local residents and, as the grass and weeds grow as the summer goes on, this is a problem that will only get worse.

"The Conservative group on Moray Council is quite right to demand a review on grass-cutting, and I would urge local people to support the petition and encourage friends and family to do the same.

"Moray is now one of the worst-funded councils in Scotland. Despite cross party efforts to plead Moray’s case with Derek Mackay, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, the SNP have chosen to continue with their squeeze on Moray’s budgets."

In response, Moray Council's leader Graham Leadbitter stated that increasing the council's budget deficit would be irresponsible.

Cllr Leadbitter (Elgin South, SNP) said: "This week a report to the council shows that the budget deficit for the coming year is a further £12.3 million, demonstrating just how challenging the ongoing financial decisions of the council are.

"In consultations people across Moray have prioritised education services and social care higher than other services.

"That is the same view that councillors have taken in the recent budget – a budget that had unanimous support.

"Reductions in grass cutting are a very visible reduction in service and we are extremely grateful for the efforts being made by people in our communities to cut areas that the council has previously done.

"We are constantly reviewing the impact of these cuts and weighing them up against the further savings that require to be made.

"We are looking at options such as sponsorship of public spaces and local councillors are working together to use Trust and Common Good funds to help mitigate the impact of these cuts.

"But to just reverse the decision and unravel the budget that has been set when we know we need to find more substantial savings would be extremely short-sighted.

"We have to cut our cloth to suit and increasing the council’s budget deficit further would not be the responsible thing to do.”

  • The petition can be found here


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