The gift of Lady Jean
Lamlash green saved for generations
A generous gift by Lady Jean Fforde will see Lamlash green saved for generations, The Arran Banner can reveal.
The deal, which on the verge of being finalised, will see ownership of the land transferred to North Ayrshire Council. That will, in turn, allow vital coastal protection works to go ahead to protect the green after many months of talks between council lawyers and representatives of owners Arran Estates.
Just 18 months ago, it looked like the green and much of the foreshore could be lost to the sea after North Ayrshire Council voted to effectively abandon any attempt to halt coastal erosion in Lamlash Bay, which could have seen the loss of the green in as little as 10 years.
That led to an uproar in the village and saw a community campaign for action led by Lamlash Improvements.
Step in Lady Jean, who owns Lamlash beach as part of her ‘share’ of Arran Estates. Talks began about the transfer of the green to the council, which currently has a 38-year care and maintenance lease on the land.
A North Ayrshire Council spokesman confirmed this week: ‘We have reached provisional agreement with the agents acting for Arran Estates and we are awaiting final confirmation of the agreement which would allow ownership of part of Lamlash village green to transfer to the council.
‘The proposed land transfer will enable necessary coastal protection works to be carried out, which will involve replacing the damaged gabion baskets with rock armour. After the transfer is complete, we will appoint a contractor to carry out this work, which will prevent further erosion at the coast at Lamlash.’
It is not yet known how much of the green has been gifted by Lady Jean, who is now 96 and sees it as her lasting legacy to the village. The council took the decision in June 2015 to remove the damaged gabions on the green and ‘allow erosion to occur through the removal of defective and dangerous defences and manage the process of retreat’.
The council spokesman added: ‘The area in question has experienced a deterioration in its gabion basket sea defences and the proposed land transfer will enable necessary coastal protection works to be car-
ried out. The repair programme will involve replacing the damaged gabion baskets with rock armour but the costs will not be finalised until the work has been tendered.’
Lamlash Improvements chairman Stuart Turner said: ‘We are delighted to hear that the transfer of ownership of parts of Lamlash green to North Ayrshire Council is nearly concluded and work to repair the damage to the sea defences will soon start. On behalf of Lamlash Improvements and the whole of the village, I would like to thank sincerely Lady Jean Fforde for her very generous and kind gift and North Ayrshire Council for their willingness to take on the land and invest the necessary money to do the repairs. This will allow the green to be enjoyed by residents and visitors alike for generations to come.’