Tory leader slams council 'spin' in row over report of damaged footpath

The footpath was initially reported in January.

The Conservative leader at Edinburgh City Council has lashed out against “spin” from the SNP and Labour administration after a row about a damaged footpath.

Councillor Iain Whyte, who represents the Inverleith ward, highlighted the state of the path on Davidson Park to his local road team in January.

However, when asked by North Edinburgh News, which reported on the damage, the council denied knowing about the issue and said it had not been reported.

The path at Davidson Park which has sparked a row

But emails seen by the Evening News show that after raising the issue in early January, a council official contacted Cllr Whyte saying there was no money for the repair as it was not in the budget.

A day after the council was first contacted, cones appeared around the path, which has been destroyed by years of vehicles driving on it, causing it to become dangerous and unusable for the elderly and the disabled.

Cllr Whyte labelled the denial as the council attempting to “spin its way out” of a crisis and branded the council “liars”.

He said: “It is an outrage that the council would try to spin its way out of a budget and organisational crisis over a clearly dangerous pavement. I have proof I raised the issue and the reason given for inaction was budget.

“Now, rather than take action on a danger, the council has denied even knowing about the situation.

“That is a lie.”

He added that the denial also shows a lack of communication within the council, criticising the administration.

Cllr Whyte said: “With yet another reorganisation in process for the council staff involved and a ‘Roads Improvement Plan’ that is yet to deliver any service or value improvements it is clear that the right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing at this SNP/Labour council.”

Transport and Environment Convener Cllr Lesley Macinnes said: “We make every effort to regularly inspect our 1500km of roads and 2100km of pavements for defects and respond to residents’ reports as quickly as possible.

“Unfortunately recent bad weather has had a significant impact on this pavement and we appreciate that this is frustrating for local residents. Our officers have visited the site and are drawing up plans for a long-term repair as soon as possible.

“Obviously we need to prioritise the projects most in need of repair but last year we carried out 96 per cent of repairs within their target date.

“Our ongoing preventative approach to treating roads and pavements has also seen our independently-assessed road condition rating has improved to its best since 2011 and we are continuing to invest in resurfacing projects across the city for lasting benefits.”

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