[/caption]BBC Highlands & Islands announced this afternoon that the St Kilda Centre is to be sited at Mangurstadh, Uig in the west of Lewis. There were two other sites, Cleitreval (North Uist) and Leverburgh (Harris). There is also to be a St Kilda trail throughout the Outer Hebrides. The remoteness of St Kilda itself, 45 miles west of the Outer Hebrides, makes the siting of the centre in that island unpracticable.
All sites were commended by the working group for putting forward a strong case for themselves, as all 3 sites had great development potential. I am pleased that Mangurstadh, one of the remotest townships in Lewis (40 miles from Stornoway), will be the site of this centre. It will also boost tourism and visitor numbers to the district of Uig.
It would appear that not everyone agrees with you on this one Arnish. Particularly one Philip Maclean http://www.hebridesnews.co.uk/st_kilda_centre_controversy.html
ReplyDeleteThis news comes as absolutely no surprise to me and I wondered when something was going to hit the fan and indeed why it has taken so long.
Whilst not wanting to chortle at the expense of the misfortune of those who put in credible submissions for Leverburgh & N. Uibhist, perhaps this will make Cllr Maclean realise what the rest of us have to go through when dealing with CNES or any of the other public sector quangos. How many of us have gasped when our job applications or tenders have been turned down with reasons given such as, trod on cracks in pavement, hairstyle not quite right, not related to anyone here (and that's for internal applications!). Yes they're all past masters at changing the goalposts in order to cater for someone they know or play marbles with. So its just a little bit amusing that the good Councillors themselves get a taste of it. It will be interesting to see what comes out in the wash from this one.
Thanks to Lady Gargar for this update. I should have pointed out in the original post that this was a recommendation, not a final decision. I was not aware that the goalposts had been shifted at the eleventh hour, so I do feel that Leverburgh and North Uist have a genuine grievance. I can only say that I hope that amended submissions from Leverburgh and Cleitreval will be allowed. Awaiting the outcome of the working group's next meeting on 12 November with interest.
ReplyDeleteA last-gasp technicality. Mangersta is the best site but let's just go through the motions once again...
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