Found murdered in Stornoway

Liam Aitchison, aged 16, went missing on 22nd November after visiting the Co-op supermarket on Macaulay Road in Stornoway. He was last seen on Anderson Road, in the north of the town. Liam came to the island a few months ago after leaving the Uists. He was due to stay with a friend of the family on the 22nd, but never turned up.

On 29th November, a member of the public reported that a body had been found in a derelict building in the village of Steinish, a mile or two northeast of Stornoway. As the days went by, it was confirmed that the body was that of 16-year old Liam, and yesterday, that the death was no longer treated as unexplained but as murder. This due to the scene encountered by detectives.

Police are appealing for any information on Liam’s whereabouts during the time between November 22nd and 29th, and any suspicious movements or activity near the building in Steinish. It stands on the eastern end of the village, and was originally the control centre for Stornoway Airport, which it overlooks.

Any information should be forwarded to Stornoway police on 01851-702222 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

My sympathies go out to the family and friends of the victim of this crime.

Changed townscape

Anyone who has ever driven off the Isle of Lewis ferry at Stornoway will be familiar with the sight and smells of the shellfish processing plant, which fronts onto the corner of James Street / Shell Street, opposite the fuel depot office and the Health Board offices. Over the past few weeks and months, this brick red building has been demolished, changing the townscape of Stornoway. With the below images, I chronicle the disappearance of the building.

23 November 2007

24 March 2011

4 April 2011

20 April 2011

View from Shell Street - 12 May 2011

View from the ferry terminal - 13 May 2011

Roadworks

The much vaunted roadworks have finally started, and it’s thrown Stornoway into a right old tizz. Sandwick Road is closed to people wanting to go to Point and the airport. Now I could be rude and say something nasty about the desirability of going to anywhere east of the town, but that isn’t nice. I’ll instead be my usual sarcastical self about the roadworks themselves.

One bright Monday evening saw this sign affixed to a lamppost in Newton, along one of the diversionary routes. Upon going down Newton Street, traffic has to turn left into Island Road to rejoin Sandwick Road a quarter of a mile further north.

Fortunately, they came round two hours later and put up a proper “Turn left” sign.
Another diversion leads up Matheson Road to Goathill Road and down Smith Avenue. Resurfacing work has turned the last road into a bit of a bumpy track, and there have been dire warnings of traffic gridlock. Apart from the lorries squeezing themselves through Newton, I’ve seen little evidence of it.

At the James Street end of Sandwick Road

Along Sandwick Road, near the Council Offices

Nicolson Institute

Just sharing a few images of the area around the Nicolson Institute on Springfield Road in Stornoway. The Pink School, Springfield South, has been knocked down - this is one of the necessities for the building of a new Nic. As the pictures show, this permits some novel views. For a while, at any rate.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Springfield North, Nicolson Institute"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The demolished Pink School with the Comhairle offices behind"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Springfield North seen over the remains of Springfield South"][/caption]

Town Hall refurbishment

There has been a silence of several months surrounding the controversial refurbishment of Stornoway Town Hall. Hebrides News is now reporting that the Scottish Government has passed the plans, as submitted and later amended by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. The group of people who are opposed are incensed and have lodged complaints with the Standards Commission against the Comhairle. Individual officials and councillors are also being investigated for possible censure over their handling of the plans.

I won't go over old ground again, save to restate my non-opposition to the refurbishment plans.

Sunday drinking

The Stornoway Golf Club is applying for a license to serve alcohol on and off the premises on Sundays. Hebrides News reports that four objections have been lodged, mainly on religious and social grounds. I actually agree with these arguments, which center on the assertion that providing carry-outs contribute towards anti-social behaviour. The low point of the week in my radio listening is Isles FM on Monday morning, listing all the misdeeds of the weekends, perpetrated mainly under the influence of alcohol between Friday and Sunday.

I wish to make it clear that I am not opposed to the consumption of alcohol as such - I am not averse to a glass of beer, wine or spirits at times myself. However, I feel a degree of double-standards in the issue of the Golf Club license creeping in, hence this post.

Either there is Sunday opening in all licensed premises in Stornoway - or all licensed premises are shut on Sunday. If the Golf Club is denied its license, then all licenses for the serving of alcoholic drink on Sunday should be revoked from all the licensed premises in the town.

Townscape

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Stornoway Town Hall before the changes"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Stornoway Town Hall after the changes"][/caption]

It was announced last night that the proposed changes to the Town Hall interior, with certain modifications, were recommended for approval by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. This ratification is likely to happen tonight, Thursday 18th February. A campaign has been active on Facebook and on the island against these changes, with protesters vowing to take the fight all the way to the Scottish Government (who have the final say on alterations to a listed building) if not the European Courts.

I have previously stated that I am not opposed to the plans for changing the interior of the Town Hall, which are in fact unavoidable due to legislation pertaining to disabled access. However, everybody is entitled to their opinion.

What has stuck in my craw is the lack of opposition to two far more visible changes to the Stornoway townscape in recent years. The Maritime Building on Pier no 1 was pulled down in 2007, without anybody uttering a squeak. The old Shoeshop on Cromwell Street, the oldest house in Stornoway, was demolished in 2009. Again, without so much as a beep from anyone.

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar stands accused of mismanaging the consultation process regarding the Town Hall plans, and I am just wondering why nobody was voicing any opposition to the demolition of the two aforementioned buildings. No, they were not the bonniest in town, and the Maritime Building had been empty for a while. However, since the 1930s, people have left the island, many never to return, through the Maritime Building. Where were all the expat Lewismen and -women who are now writing whining letters to Hebrides News, from afar as northern England, imploring the Council not to vandalise the Town Hall? Why were they not sharpening their quills to oppose these very visible changes to the townscape of Stornoway?

Because, let's face it, the interior changes to the Town Hall are INVISIBLE from the outside. And there are far more people seeing the exterior of the Town Hall, pier number 1 and Cromwell Street, than there will be people seeing the inside of the Town Hall.

A pointless rant? No. I hope the Council take this opportunity to review their consultation procedures, to make planning applications like this more visible to the general public.

Thwarted

That is, in a word, how Comhairle nan Eilean Siar must be feeling right now. Plans to upgrade Stornoway Town Hall running into mounting opposition, including from within its own authority (see two posts back). And a few days ago, its plans to fill in part of the Inner Harbour at Stornoway were rejected by Stornoway Port Authority on grounds that did not seem unreasonable to me. The rejection was not taken lying down; on the contrary, the reaction from councillors was one of unmitigated fury.

I am reasonably familiar with the problems posed by water getting too close for comfort. As such, it would appear to me that filling in the upper reaches of the Inner Harbour would have been asking for trouble. Anyone who knows our town in winter, will be familiar with the problems posed by flooding at times of high tide and / or high winds. North Beach, Cromwell Street and Bayhead properties can be seen lined with sandbags at such time, and still people end up with wet feet. If you take space away from the water to go to, it will go somewhere else. Like onto the streets of Stornoway.

Perhaps the Town Fathers should go to the oil barons to ask for a contribution towards cleaning up the mess left behind at the Maclennan's Oilyard on North Beach. This is due to be converted to a carpark (and that's what this whole saga is about, carparking space).

Images of February

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Sunset 9 February"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="MV Isle of Lewis back on the run after its refit"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Anyone for some cake?"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Stornoway Sunday"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Stornoway Sunday"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Lifeboat and Compton House"][/caption]

Town Hall refurbishments

A very strange development in the continuing saga of the proposed Town Hall refurbishments. Now the Council's own planning department have spoken out against the proposals, something that I find incredibly strange - and I use the word incredibly deliberately. I am not that familiar with planning procedures, but it would appear that one department within the Comhairle is not talking to another. If such a major project is put forward, you'd imagine that all departments would have talked it through with each other before it was submitted for scrutiny by the public.

Yes, I am in favour of the Town Hall refurbishment scheme. If only because it would have brought the building into line with legal requirements for disabled access, and taken it into more extensive use. I do not fault people for wishing to oppose as I believe they do so for genuine reasons.

But for the Comhairle's own planning department to voice its opposition so late in the day, and in wordings that are quite frankly redolent of the opponents' line of argument reduces the whole planning process to a farce and the Comhairle to the level of a banana republic.

Stornoway Town Hall - II

On Saturday (12th), about 100 people demonstrated outside Stornoway Town Hall against the proposed changes to the building's interior. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, who I have freely criticised on other issues in the past, has finally spoken out to clarify what the refurbishments plans will and will not entail.

• A removable stage, to be deployed when needed for performances


• Sales of work and craft fairs can still be held, benefiting from (in fact) an increased floor space area


• The community functionality will continue


• Office space is already present in the building, the Council Service Point (off Point Street), which was very much in demand at the time of its opening

The overall aim is to increase usage of the building.

An on-line facility is to be provided to allow people virtual access and a walk through facility, to see what the proposals would actually look like.

More information on Hebrides News.

Refurbishment plans for Stornoway Town Hall

This post is to raise awareness of a planning application for a refurbishment of Stornoway Town Hall. They can be accessed on the planning website of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, and it is possible to leave feedback before 13 January 2010. Initial reactions on local blogs and websites is scathing, and a Facebook group has already been set up in protest.

Lewis & Harris in the 90s

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Stornoway from no 1 pier, 25 July 1994"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="View from the Ravenspoint Centre, Kershader, on 30 July 1996"][/caption]

It is worth noting that the above view no longer exists. The (former) Storlann, Post Office and Croileagan presently stand in the centre / right of the picture, blocking the view down Loch Erisort.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Scaladale, 29 July 1996"][/caption]

Ardvourlie Castle is still a ruin, and the Scaladale Centre does not yet exist.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Departing Stornoway, 31 July 1996"][/caption]

Lewis Carnival 2009

Today saw the Lewis Carnival procession wind its way through the town. There were five floats, two on large lorry trailers, and three on smaller vehicles. The Lewis Pipe Band did them proud, marching on ahead. Just a few pics to give you a taster of the atmosphere near the Coop roundabout.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Sunday ferries --- erm --- fairies"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Lewis Peatcutters"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Pampered pooches"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Homecoming"][/caption]



Click: Footage of the Pipeband

Images of June

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Cruiseliner in the fog"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Woolly jumper in Uig"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Shielings in Uig"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Darkness in London, daylight in Stornoway"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Claire de Lune"][/caption]

Of an evening in Stornoway

Gun emplacements

On the Arnish peninsula, just behind the lighthouse from which this blog derives its name, stand a couple of gun emplacements. They look out over the Minch south and east of Stornoway Harbour, and have stood idle since World War II came to an end in 1945. Below is the view from Charlie's Monument, and in line with the gun emplacements in showing the ferry passing the Arnish Lighthouse.



It worries me to read that the Lord's Day Observance Society are applying for planning permission to restore the gun emplacements. Particularly following Calmac's announcement that they will institute Sunday sailings. Is this what is meant by gunboat diplomacy?

Updates

The Environmental Services Committee of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has decided to approve the planning application for a 26-turbine windfarm in the Pairc area of Lochs. Subject to approval by the Scottish Government, the windfarm will be constructed in moorland south of Habost, Kershader and Garyvard to Gravir. Full council are likely to ratify the decision next week. The project costs more than £100m, is expected to create several dozen jobs, and have a great impact on the environment of South Lochs. Personally, I'm quite opposed to the scheme - I am among several thousand who have lodged objections with the Scottish Government.

Outline planning permission has also been granted for the new Nicolson Institute buildings along Springfield Road. The Health & Safety Executive have advised against the proposals, as they lie on the outer edge of a blast zone of the Scotia LPG plant further east along Sandwick Road. It is possible that the Scottish Government will call in the scheme, which will lead to delays. It is worth stressing that HSE only have an advisory role, and cannot torpedo any proposals. Their advice does weigh heavily though.

Above stories courtesy Hebrides News, with a sprinkle of my own take thrown in. I would like to link to a reaction, submitted by a Lemreway resident to the news that the Pairc windfarm was likely to be rubberstamped by the Council. It quite adequately summarises my opinions regarding the Comhairle on the matter of windfarms.

Safety regulations

The Nicolson Institute along Springfield Road in Stornoway is due for replacement, as the buildings are at the end of their useful life. For the last few years, various locations have been proposed for a newbuild school. The latest plans (NB: PDF-file) have hit a snag. Apparently, they lie within the so-called blastzone for the gasholder, about a quarter of a mile away. The Health & Safety Executive have raised an objection for this reason.

The Comhairle are going to apply to the Scottish Government to overrule the HSE, as otherwise planning permission could be denied.

Now, I can see that the planned school, along Matheson Road and Sandwick Road, is further away from the gasholder than the Comhairle's own offices. You could even argue that the present day school is closer to it than the new proposals. However, after the explosion at the Buncefield Depot in Hertfordshire in December 2005, I feel that HSE should be listened to at the very least.

Trump not at Lews Castle

Donald Trump is reported to have pulled out of a move to turn Lews Castle into a luxury hotel. The building is beginning to look more and more like a moneypit / white elephant as the years go by. Although an interpretative plaque has now been nailed across the entrance gates, the castle is inaccessible as it is structurally unsafe. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar had been looking for a partner to restore and develop the 19th century building, something that would run into a 7 if not 8 figure sum of money.

I am a little bemused at Donald Trump, who sees fit to rename an Aberdeenshire estate after his mother who hailed from Lewis. When Trump visited the island last year, he went out of his way to visit the village of Tong where his mother grew up. The cringefactor was high. Yet he cannot bear to part with money to do up an iconic building in the island of Lewis, where his mother grew up. The Aberdeenshire project, incidentally, will cost him 1 billion pounds.

Roll on the next Mr Moneybags.