The Scottish Government’s decision not to release the remaining Town Centre Regeneration Funds for Brechin is a disappointing decision

The SNP Government has really let down people in Brechin again.  By denying them access to over £900,000 of funding, it will be a bitter blow for attempts to give Brechin’s town centre a much needed boost.

Given that the money was already budgeted, the SNP must explain where the money has gone and where they have spent it instead of Brechin.

The whole Town Centre Regeneration Fund has been handicapped by the SNP from the start.  A sensible proposal for investment in town centres across Scotland by Conservative MSPs, has been hobbled by a poor implementation by the Scottish Government.

With short deadlines, poor communications and no committment to make the funds available when needed, the government has made the process as difficult as possible and clearly begrudged creating the fund in the first place.  It is yet another case of the SNP’s ‘Not Invented Here, We Know Best’ attitude.

The Town Centre Regeneration Fund is precisely the sort of investment that towns like Brechin desperately need during difficult economic times.

It is little surprise then, that people in Brechin will see this as just another broken SNP promise.