A north-east politician has claimed his area is being “hindered” by advice given by Aberdeenshire Council to businesses looking to relocate to the area.
Banff and District member John Cox suggested that other parts of the region were being favoured when firms approach the local authority seeking assistance.
Mr Cox made the claim after being approached by a firm in Aberdeen with clients wishing to relocate outwith the city.
After previous attempts to attract companies to Banff and Macduff proved fruitless, Mr Cox said he was now reluctant to refer companies to the council for advice.
He said: “Someone who originally came from Banff approached me as he has clients who are considering relocating from the city into Aberdeenshire – particularly Banff.
“He was looking for advice on what incentives are available to firms.
“When I contacted the council they attempted to completely take over and this is what I am unhappy about.
“Previous attempts to draw businesses to the Tarlair industrial estate at Macduff have been unsuccessful and I put that down to the advice being dolled out by the council.
“Instead of talking up Banff and Macduff officers are sugges ting firms would be better off in the likes of Inverurie and Turriff.
“This is a regeneration area and a key part of that is bringing in new businesses – the council should be helping rather than hindering this.”
A council spokesman denied the claims made by Mr Cox and insisted the authority was committed to breathing life into Banff and Macduff.
He said: “We often support businesses to relocate and grow in Aberdeenshire although we do not operate any location-based incentives, as they rarely create longer term prosperity for the area concerned.
“We focus on meeting the individual needs of the business through the infrastructure and services they require to expand and generate jobs and value in the local economy.
“One of the critical requirements of businesses is a strong workforce and the northern areas, including Banff and Macduff, generally offer a stronger and more loyal workforce than other areas.
“We have a relatively healthy indigenous business base in the Banff and Macduff area and would be delighted to work with any existing or new business to facilitate their growth in any way we can.”