In the week hundreds of Falkirk Council workers staged a one-day strike in protest at a wage offer worth 2.5 per cent, the dozen members of the regulatory committee will take a break from site visits to enjoy lunch in a local restaurant

The decision to book the Wallace's Bar and Restaurant at the Grange Manor in Glensburgh, where starters cost between £3 and £6, main courses £9 to £18 and desserts £4.65, has been criticised by one of the committee who will tuck in.

Furious Denny and Banknock councillor Martin Oliver tried to persuade convener Billy Buchanan to scrap the plan and organise the visits for the afternoon.

Mr Oliver wrote to him after the schedule was put back an hour to allow a briefing meeting for the full council to go ahead this morning.

He said: "I am dismayed to see that the timing of the first visit has
been moved. Consequently, after only one site visit, members are then going for lunch at the expense of the public purse. As this does not represent best value, I would ask that the site visits be rearranged to take place after 1 p.m. to allow members the opportunity of lunch in
the Municipal Buildings. Only one site visit has to be re-arranged to accommodate this change. I'm sure you will agree that we need to demonstrate we are providing value for money to the general public.

This current arrangement does not do that."
The committee will complete a site visit in Maddiston before their meal and afterwards one at the Kemfine chemicals plant in Grangemouth and another in Denny.

Yesterday (Wednesday) SNP Group leader David Alexander backed
Councillor Oliver's stance.

Mr Alexander said: "What Martin is saying is quite valid. There are only three site visits on the agenda and they could quite easily have been fitted in after lunch. The committee could even have bought sandwiches from the canteen in the Municipal Buildings and eaten them on the bus.

"Site visits are important ahead of any planning application being determined and there are times where the committee is required to be out all day making decisions. In these cases a lunch is justified, but
I think it should be recognised that a lunch in this particular instance is completely unneccesary. It's public money we are spending here and as councillors have a responsibility to make sure it is justified."

Bizarrely, The Falkirk Herald understands the schedule was altered at the request of another SNP councillor on the regulatory committee anxious to attend a briefing due to be given by development services director Rhona Geisler and her team.

The council's democratic services manager insisted that regardless of the new timetable lunch was always going to be taken 'on the road'.

Brian Pirie said: "The decision for members to have lunch en-route is a long established practice where site meetings extend over a working day.
"When scheduling these, every attempt is made to ensure that the venue chosen for lunch is located near to the last location visited or near to the first after lunch. In this case, an additional meeting had been scheduled for 10 a.m. and in order to allow members of the committee who wished to attend this meeting to do so, the previously agreed site visits were rescheduled.
"This was agreed in consultation with the convener of the regulatory committee and was intended to prevent any further problems with members of the public and applicants who had already been notified of times and dates."

The Falkirk Herald attempted to contact Councillor Buchanan without success