Falls of Shin Visitor Centre 'optimism' hint

Some good news regarding the closure-hit Falls of Shin Visitor Centre could be revealed shortly, it has been hinted.

The community owned centre, run by the Kyle of Sutherland Trust, is to be put up for sale after efforts to find an operator to run it were unsuccessful.

Local groups Lairg Learning Centre and the Kyle of Sutherland Hub were keen to take it over, but their business proposal was deemed by the trust not to be financially viable.

Trust manager David Watson normally gives an update on the situation regarding the visitor centre at meetings of Creich Community Council and Ardgay and District Community Council.

However, he was not present at the Creich meeting last week and Marcus Munro, who sits on the trust’s board of directors, spoke instead.

Mr Munro said: “I had to stand out at the last meeting about the Falls of Shin so I am not fully up to speed - I had to come out of it because of an interest so I may be in the dark."

“I know it looks bad from the outside and it is bad, it is terrible it has not been opened. But I get the feeling we are in the right direction to put a bit of optimism into it, and I think something will come out quite soon - more will be revealed.”

Mr Munro took a swipe at social media users and the comments they had posted regarding the Falls of Shin situation.

“The Facebook warriors came out and that was upsetting,” he said.

Community council chairman Keith Williams said: “We will wait to hear a full update in the fullness of time, but it can not have been an easy decision making process and things are not as black and white as people on social media would have us believe.

“We just have to put our faith in the process and we will support anything and everything that will get the place open again and bring people into the area - how that is achieved is a different thing.

“It is a very different world now to when the facility was built and hindsight is a wonderful thing."

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