THE ARRAN BANNER 20 YEARS AGO

Saturday March 28, 1998

Donald to visit

The man almost certain to be Scotland’s First Minister, Scottish secretary Donald Dewar, will visit Arran next week to chair a meeting of the Highlands and Islands Convention at the castle on Friday. This is the fifth meeting of the convention, a body set up to look at the problems of the Highlands and islands. It includes all MPs and MEPs from the region as well as representatives from tourist boards and local authorities. Jim Lees of Corrie represents the Ayrshire and Arran Tourist Board.

The agenda for the meeting includes: membership, European funding, transport co-ordination, the changing electricity market, the role of Gaelic and tourism and telecommunications. The last time Mr Dewar was on Arran was in 1987.

Permission at last

Planning permission for the Charters Towers development in Brodick has been passed at last. This concludes a long and weary journey for developer Celia Urquhart and for those who have protested against her plans. This is the fourth application that she has made and each previous one has been hotly contested. Each new application has been toned down so that it has gone from a development housing more than 90 people, plus commercial premises, to a more modest four detached and ten semi-detached houses.

Throughout the applications there have been angry public meetings, many representations to the local authority and even a Scottish Office public local inquiry. The concern was always that the plans were far too large for such a small village and would increase its population by 10 per cent in one swoop. Asked if this was his most contentious application, planner Mick Lee said: ‘For a development it’s one of the longest I have ever dealt with, although, it is not unique.’

Clansman returns

The Clansman sails again. Long the Arran ferry, she was sold abroad and may be no more. But today (Friday) a new Clansman was launched by HRH The Princess Royal, who, in 1993, launched MV Caledonian Isles. MV Clansman was launched at Appledore Shipbuilders in Devon, the first CalMac ship to be built there. She is the fifth ship to carry the name Clansman and will serve on the Inner and Outer Hebrides runs.

01_B13twe02 Learning to surf the net as part of the Argyll and the Islands Tourism (AIE) online initiative, Mr and Mrs Terry McManus of the Invercloy Hotel are watched over by Melody McKay of AIE and Diane Miller and Linda Johnston.

01_B13twe01 Alan Bannatyne, Jean Murchie, Cecily Bannatyne, Charlie Murchie, Cathie Galbraith and Ethel Shaw stand on the new carpet which has just been replaced at Blackwaterfoot bowling rink after 17 years.

01_B13twe03 Third year pupils at Arran High School introduce members of Contact the Elderly to the computer age with lessons on how to use them. For many of the participants, aged up to 75, this was their first time using a computer.

01_B13twe04 Lesley van Bogerijen was the horticultural society’s bulb show champion last Saturday. Lesley’s mother Dorothy, right, said the judges loved Lesley’s own bred narcissus.

01_B13twe05 All the riders who took part in the Cairnhouse Winter Points Championship which was won by junior Jenna Thomson and senior Mhairi Holmer.