Aberdeenshire Council budget: school crossing patrollers axed, free parking scrapped and council tax freeze confirmed

School crossing patrollers are to be completely axed, free parking in some areas will be scrapped and council tax will be frozen.

Aberdeenshire Council's budget was approved today as the authority faced a funding deficit of £35.45 million and look to save £17.3 million over the next year.

School crossing patrollers axed

14.5 lollipop staff will be cut saving £436,000, alongside 6.08 janitor posts which will save £195,000.

The decision comes despite concerns from parents that streets around schools are not safe enough.

Leader of the opposition party, Councillor Gwyneth Petrie, raised the 'safe streets' trial at Fraserburgh Park South School which she hailed as a success and suggested the initiative be rolled out in other areas before cutting school crossing patrollers.

The initiative sees streets around the school closed during peak times to tackle congestion and safety concerns and was the first of its kind in the region.

However, the amendments were rejected and the motion was voted through.

Council leader Gillian Owen noted that more than half of the budget is allocated to education which she said was “critical” to ensure youngsters get the best start in life.

Works on two new state-of-the-art schools in Fraserburgh and Stonehaven will be halted due to funding pressures.

It comes after the council missed out on Scottish Government funding for the new facilities last year.

Council tax freeze

A council tax freeze was confirmed at the beginning of the meeting following an extra £62 million being promised to local authorities by the Scottish Government.

They were previously offered £147 million.

This will assist the council with an additional £3.1 million in council tax settlement for the next year.

However, Council-leader Gillian Owen stressed it "does not detract" from the local authority's financial challenges but noted it would be a "welcome announcement" for residents.

Anger over speech and language therapy cuts

Parents, charities and support groups have voiced their concerns over the removal of speech and language therapy in schools and nurseries.

Nine roles will be cut while therapy contracts will be terminated.

The removal of the service will affect over 6,000 children.

Billy Alexander, CEO of autism and neurodivergent charity, A-ND, said he is "deeply concerned" about the cuts to the service as he described them as "vital" for children and young people.

He said: "It's not just a bit of support for a couple of hours a week in school, it's much bigger than that.

"The human impact on children and young people is huge and if you go even wider for families - families, parents and carers are already having to fight really hard for any kind of additional support right now."

Garden waste and free parking

Residents could also see some changes to seasonal garden waste collections - if any changes are pushed through, locals will be encouraged to take waste to the nearest household recycling centre instead.

Free parking will also be removed from several car parks across the region including Burn Lane car park in Inverurie, Hanover Street in Fraserburgh, High Street in Turriff and St Mary's at Banff.

This means any free spaces within the pay and display car parks will now require parking charges.

Parking charges will also be increased by 30% in a bid to recoup some cash.

Road maintenence

The council’s winter maintenance programme was spared from cuts.

This was down to public feedback who voiced the importance of the service - meaning priority routes will continue to be cared for during winter months.

Essential repair works on Banff Bridge have also been confirmed with maintenence set to get underway this year while plans to improve Aboyne Bridge will also go ahead.