Overgrown plot is 'letting down' Bonar Bridge
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Creich Community Council has been accused of shirking its responsibility to maintain a piece of land in the centre of Bonar Bridge.
Local resident Michael Baird said the overgrown state of the ground on the river bank opposite the village post office is blocking the fine view to the Kyle of Sutherland and affecting the internet signal of the mobile Bank of Scotland.
Mr Baird turned detective to find out who the ground belonged to, paying £46 to the Land Registry to be told it was owned by the 'Sasines of Skibo', which is administered by a Trust, members of which are the descendants of Andrew Carnegie.
An approach to Mr Carnegie’s great-grandson William Thomson revealed an arrangement had been made with the community council to take over the ground for the village, to do with as locals saw fit.
Mr Baird said the untidy state of the land was letting the character of the village down and that engineers, called in by the bank had identified the vegetation as a reason for the poor internet signal.
After approaching the community council about the issue, he received a letter from chairman Pete Campbell who wrote: “The council earmarked some of its funds to clear and tidy up the land. However, with the advent of the Covid crisis, we decided we should shelve these plans and reserve the funds in case they were needed for more pressing resilience matters in the community.”
Mr Campbell said it was wrong to claim the vegetation was blocking the signal for the bank.
He suggested that Mr Baird could put together a group of interested parties and apply for funding to undertake the vegetation clearance.
Mr Baird said he had now approached Bonar Bridge Improvement Group (B-BIG) to see if it would take on the work.
“The group’s chairwoman, Caroline Munro, is interested and said she would put it to her committee,” he said.
