More than £200,000 of public money has been set aside to fix a boundary wall on land owned by Aberdeen council’s finance boss Willie Young.
The project, to repair a wall alongside a nationally important cycle track, triggered a series of events which has led to a high level inquiry into all similar projects across the city.
And last night, the local authority launched a probe and admitted there had been “serious failings” after it emerged that this scheme did not go through a committee for public scrutiny and approval.
The Wellington Brae development has since been halted.
Mr Young was also facing fierce criticism over why he did not raise the issue internally after approached by council officers as the landowner and why he did not offer any sort of contribution.
Questions were also raised as to whether he should have alerted the council about a potential conflict of interest.
Last year cycle pathway body Sustrans, which is 79% funded by the taxpayer, agreed to provide the £200,000 budget for work on Mr Young’s property at Wellington Brae in Ferryhill as the street sits along the national Dover to Shetland cycle route.
According to title deeds seen by the Press and Journal, the stone dyke, which extends the length of the lane, is on the land belonging to the finance convener near to his home on Prospect Court.
But last night Mr Young denied any wrongdoing and said he was an “innocent bystander”.
He confirmed he had verbally approved work to begin on the wall but without written approval to council officers.
The only mention of the project came in the form of an information bulletin in May last year to the infrastructure committee.
Correspondence seen by the P&J indicates Mr Young discussed the project with senior council officers and “verbally approved” the scheme without it ever being taken to a committee.
In e-mails exchanged recently, senior council officers admitted “a series of service inadequacies” had led to the work not being put through a council committee and apologised to Mr Young.
But SNP deputy leader Graham Dickson, a councillor for Torry and Ferryhill who is standing down at the upcoming election, said the matter was “a severe conflict of interest”.
He said: “This is an outrage for the taxpayer, as millionaire councillor Young is allegedly the beneficiary of public money to maintain his own land.
“This affair shows a total disregard for the people of Aberdeen both as a landowner and as a councillor.
“This decision appears to have bypassed all public scrutiny and we need to know who authorised what and why, we also need to know if at any point funds were sought from councillor Young personally and, if not, why not.
“The people of Aberdeen will be outraged it turns out that public money is being used to the financial gain of politicians.”
Liberal Democrat councillor Martin Greig questioned why there had been no debate on the funds with elected members.
He said: “There is enormous competition to get funds spent in local areas. The money available is extremely limited so there has to be robust debates about where and when work is done.
“There are tough choices to be made and local residents deserve the reassurance that council finances are considered in a fair and legitimate way.
“The community around Walker Dam deserve to know why they are being overlooked when extra cash is available and is spent elsewhere.”
Labour member Mr Young has been convener of finance, policy and resources at the town house for the past five years – one of the most powerful roles in the council.
He will face a stiff challenge next week at the local elections where he will try to keep his party as the lead group.
When questioned about the funds earmarked for the repairs he said: “I’m unsure who owns the land because the council are unsure who owns it.
“Sustrans put forward a grant but I was never approached to make any sort of contribution.
“Council officers asked me about getting on with the works and I said yes because they told me it was my land, but it isn’t up to me to check land titles – it’s up to them. ”
Boundary wall inquiry: What the title deeds say
While Bernadette Marjoram, the council’s interim director infrastructure, said: “The Wellington Brae cycleway repairs were first considered by officers of the council in 2016 following storm damage.
“Aberdeen City Council acknowledges the project did not subsequently follow the required governance procedures and was not presented for committee approval at any stage in the process.
“This is a serious failing by council officers and therefore an urgent review is underway. In light of this, work has been suspended.
“The project, which was to be fully funded by Sustrans, was instigated by staff of the planning and sustainable development service in conjunction with Sustrans on the basis the section is part of a national network.
“It should be stated no works were requested by landowners in the area surrounding the path and nor did any landowner seek funding for repairs.
“At this stage the ownership of the land is in question. Aberdeen City Council is urgently seeking to establish clarity in this respect.
“To reiterate, no elected member of Aberdeen City Council was given the opportunity to consider the Wellington Brae project at committee or was party to any decision taken.”
A Sustrans spokeswoman said: “Our national cycle network senior project officer has been in talks with Aberdeen City Council and Nestrans from early 2016 when a retaining wall at Wellington Brae collapsed as a result of the winter weather.
“Wellington Brae forms a key part of route 1 of the National Cycle Network, which runs from Dover to Shetland. The collapse of the wall meant a section of the route was closed and diversions were put in place.
“Sustrans Scotland awarded Aberdeen City Council £21,316.21 in 2015-16 for a site survey, design and preliminary works to the Wellington Brae site, through our Transport Scotland fund for maintaining and extending the National Cycle Network routes.
“We have awarded Aberdeen City Council up to a further £200,000 this financial year, for the completion of the works to Wellington Brae as per the detailed design cost estimate prepared by the council. The funding will be paid to the council upon completion of the works.
“It is the responsibility of our project partners to undergo the necessary procurement procedures required for the works undertaken. Sustrans Scotland grant guidelines require partners to confirm procurement guidelines have been followed.
“As custodians of the National Cycle Network we endeavour, where possible, to ensure that all of our routes are safe and well maintained for all users.”
