ECC are by no means the only incompetent council, in fact most are: a lack of public engagement combined with cash starvation and Holyrood essentially rendering them little more than stewards of their limited realm, means that most if not all are incompetent in Scotland. I would almost wholly rip them up in an independent Scotland and empower community councils instead, and devolve Holyrood’s powers further.

I’m not sure why you wish to defend ECC so hard but the evidence is undeniable here. Yes, they manage plenty of other things despite their funding challenges, and mostly well. But they have clearly failed to manage this community owned asset and as such I label them incompetent.