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Crown Estate revenues should be used here
August 23rd, 2010 | 
Author: The Crown Estate has hit the headlines for the wrong reasons again.
Although it’s name suggests Royal involvement this has nothing to do with the Windsors, folk should be under no illusions that this is made up of estates of lands and seabed that are controlled fully by the London Government treasury.
Another thing that there should be no illusions about is that the Estate belongs to Scotland and should be run by, and for, the benefit of Scotland.
As it is, the millions of pounds in revenues flow into the exchequer and are used to fund whatever the treasury decide. When Chair of Planning, Environment and Development on Highland Council I was involved in getting an unprecedented all cross party written agreement drawn up to call for the return of the Crown Estate to Scottish Government control. In spite of reminding those involved of the importance of this issue, however, it seems to have slipped down the scale of importance for the Lib Dem/Lab/Independent administration. You don’t have to guess why.
SNP MSP Rob Gibson’s comments last week on the scandal of the Crown Estate selling Scottish property to fund building shopping malls in England were a timely reminder of the “drip, drip” waste of Scottish revenue and capital wealth that continues to drain away unabated.
Rob said “Devolving the Crown Estate is long overdue and the current coalition’s plans to allow Scotland to appoint one Commissioner are seriously deficient. Selling Scottish property at a loss to fund shopping malls in England instead of holding onto the property to make the best return for further investment in Scotland is not acceptable with what are major assets. It raises serious questions about the Crown Estates stewardship of their resources in Scotland. With the Crown Estate currently responsible for and receiving revenues from Scotland’s seabed which is set to become one of our most valuable resources this state of affairs in unacceptable.” He added “The UK Government must act to fully devolve control of all elements of the Crown Estate and I am calling on the Lib Dems, who well know the benefit that could be derived for the North of Scotland, to ensure the coalition delivers that devolution as soon as possible.”
It does seem as if the appetite previously shown by prominent Lib Dems in the Highlands for the transfer of control of the Crown Estate has been seriously watered down now that Danny Alexander has to make decisions on these issues. Could it be that another famously “Unfair” issue is going to magically become “ok” again? We will see over the coming months but one thing the public can count on is that the SNP position, whether taken by MSPs or Councillors remains consistent:
Return control of the Crown Estate assets to where they belong. Scotland.
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Lower Foyers ignored after scant consideration of options
I was very disappointed to learn at Highland Council’s Resources Committee today that promises to look at different options for the abandoned “Ness Hydro Project” had been paid no more than lip service.
At the previous Committee I raised the issue of using the money (two amounts totalling £320,000 in all) to fund works to replace or repair the crumbling bridge at Lower Foyers and had been promised by the Chair, Carolyn Wilson, that this would be considered. A temporary “Bailey Bridge has been in use there for far longer than intended and is now around 23 years old.
I consider this more than worthy of some overdue attention.
It appears, however, that the request to even look at this possibilty was ignored and that virtually all of the money has been assigned to Caithness Horizons between then and now. Whilst I am supportive of the Caithness project it is more than disappointing that the various competing needs are not being weighed up – and of course – promises are not being kept.
The people who live in Lower Foyers deserve better than to continue to be ignored with regard to the bridge solution and I will continue to press for action.
I will also continue to look for the funding options and to point these out to the Lib Dem/Ind/Labour Administration. They cannot continue to ignore Lower Foyers.
Strathglass: “No to Nuclear”
- Who said that the big issues are never discussed at Community Councils?
At Strathglass Community Council last week we had the full agenda of roads, play parks and many other recurring themes, but the Community Council were also asked to respond to a request from the “No to Nuclear Power” campaign.
A very thoughtful and balanced presentation was given by one of the Community Council’s office bearers on the pros and cons of both sides of the argument of the issue of a Community Council responding at all on wider matters, such as Nuclear Power. After discussion, it was agreed the Community Council’s views would be valid. From the floor one community member reminded the audience that the legacy of Chernobyl continues to cause problems many years after the disaster.
There was no vote as there was nobody there who could figure out why the Highlands – and Scotland – sitting on massive renewable potential, would ever want to invest in something where the environmental impact is measured in tens of thousands of years. Consequently the Community Council is making its position clear.
I was proud to witness the Community Council take a view on this when they could have so easily dodged it.
My own view, you will not be surprised to hear, is that investing in nuclear is daft and dangerous and the new fashion for dressing it up as the saviour of the energy market is one driven by self interest and expediency.
I notice that those Lib Dems now sharing power at Westminster have noticably soften their attitude from a straight “No” to “let’s look again” position. This reminds me of “Scrap the UNFAIR Highland Housing debt” which, apparently, is no longer “Unfair” when the Lib Dems get the chance to deliver.
Lib Dem principles and policies, it seems, have a “half life” of just a few months when grasping power for the wrong reasons.
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Colin is the “Bees knees” at helping out
Not quite "Bats in the Belfry" but a week or so ago I had bees in my chimney. The honey bees had been searching for a place to set up a hive and decided that they liked our place. Flattered as I was none of us relished sharing with these little natural wonders, especially as they had found a crack to come through, in numbers, into our bedrooms.
Honey bees are very important to our environement so we were determined to seek specialist advice to help them "choose a new home" rather than our chimney. If you call the council about bees then they will direct you to a group of enthusiasts and volunteers who both look after and help with bee incidents.
My call resulted in one of my own constiuents, Colin Robertson of Teandalloch, coming to the rescue with his roof ladder. After a bit of high wire bee wrangling and the discovery that thjere was no queen, the decision was made to discourage them by simply putting a plastic seal over the chimney. This simple act caused a bit of confusion amongst the bees but they moved away over the next 48 hours.
I am very grateful to Colin (as I am sure many others have been in the past) and it is of great credit to him and his fellow bee enthusiasts that they ask for no reward to help out. They are a shining example of those who help simply because they can.
In addition to his help I have now found a new source for free range eggs as Colin also keeps chickens as well as bees. Honey and eggs – I will be making a bee line over there.
Dochgarroch School praised in Quality Improvement
Another Aird and Loch Ness school, Dochgarroch Primary school, has come in for praise after a Quality Improvement officer visit. Focussing on Learning and Teaching the report points out the some key areas where the school has done very well. I am a firm believer that relationships are at the centre of success for schools and at Dochgarroch there is a strong bond between the Parents, the pupils and the staff. The school really is the centre of the community.
Highlights from the report state that Dochgarroch pupils are generally "well motivated and treat each other with respect" it says that "Standards of attainment in general are impressive" and "Learners are proud of their school, work very well cooperatively and and support each other effectively"
I would like to congratulate Mrs Donald, her staff and the pupils at the school, for the recognition in the report and it serves to underline what I have always found when I visit.
The quality of education in the schools in our ward, Aird and Loch Ness, is very good and has been, in most cases, for years. I look forward to taking the opportunity to highlight further successes for Dochgarroch and the other schools as reports come in.
Good news at last for Wellington Lay By
Work to begin on Wellington lay by “within the next two months” Aird and Loch Ness SNP Councillor welcomes outcome of meeting with Transport Scotland.
A meeting requested by Aird and Loch Ness SNP Councillor, Drew Hendry between Transport Scotland and Aird and Loch Ness Councillors has been described as “helpful” after commitments to begin work on repairing the Lay By were given by Transport Scotland officials “within the next two months”. The Lay By, an important tourist stop has been closed to traffic following a collapse of the retaining wall. The wall, built long ago, is a mixture of Mortar and Drystane construction and has been under more pressure than would have been intended when it was built. This has led to the collapse of parts and concerns about safety. Any new work on the retaining wall will be carried out in sympathy for the location and will be designed to fit with the lochside.
Aird and Loch Ness SNP Councillor, Drew Hendry said “I am delighted that we will finally get some action as a result of the meeting and we have been given a commitment that work will begin soon to reinforce the collapsed area with rock to build it back up again. Depending on how this work goes we have been advised that the Lay By, or a good part of it may be open during the remainder of the tourist season.
My ward colleagues and I have also asked for work to be done to make the Lay By better for the future. We have suggested that there is a new pathway down to the beach, better signage and that to prevent future damage that an order to prevent Heavy goods vehicles parking there is put in place. After hearing from Transport Scotland I am hopeful that these measures will be taken forward. They have promised in future to make their plans and work for the site visible on their website.”