Cash row forces Spean Bridge council to fold
Spean Bridge, Roy Bridge and Achnacarry Community Council has been forced into abeyance after a row over money from hydro electricity schemes saw a councillor quit in protest.
Sandy Edmond resigned from his role on Friday after a dispute flared between him and council chairman John Fotheringham.
With only five elected councillors, Mr Edmond’s resignation means the body has to cease its official activities until additional councillors can be found.
Mr Edmond had taken exception to Mr Fotheringham’s comments at last week’s monthly meeting of the community council when the latter criticised the Achnacarry, Bunarkaig and Clunes (ABC) community group for holding onto community benefit cash stemming from hydro electricity schemes along Loch Arkaig.
Mr Fotheringham told the meeting that as the statutory elected body for the entire area, the financial benefit payments should have come to the community council, not the ABC group.
And he expressed his frustration that, what he claimed had been a previous agreement made by a former chairman of the ABC group – that the money would be handed over to the community council for disbursement – was being ignored.
Mr Fotheringham told the meeting: ‘I find it very difficult the ABC group is now not willing to pass the money to the SCIO [Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation] set up alongside the community council to handle money, particularly when we gave them £100 for a Christmas party and they are now sitting with £39,000 in their bank account. ‘I think that is, frankly, immoral.’
The community council then agreed to invite local Highland Council ward manager Dot Ferguson to act as an intermediary to resolve the matter.
But the situation has snowballed since last Tuesday’s meeting, with Mr Edmond, who is also a trustee and current secretary of the ABC group, and until recently was also chairman of Spean Bridge, Roy Bridge and Achnacarry SCIO, resigning as a community councillor.
He had contacted Mr Fotheringham to object to the latter’s handling of the matter and demanded the minutes of the meeting be amended because, he alleged, Mr Fotheringham had used the word ‘obscene’ to describe the ABC group’s behaviour and wanted that recorded.
However, Mr Fotheringham stands by his assertion he did
not use the term ‘obscene’ – the Lochaber Times which attended the meeting noted Mr Fotheringham had used the word ‘immoral’ – and said he will not enter into any further correspondence on the matter with Mr Edmond.
Asked why he had resigned, Mr Edmond told the Lochaber Times it was never his intention for the community council to fold as a result but that he found it difficult to condone what he claimed was Mr Fotheringham’s ‘overtly aggressive manner’ as chairman, something which he says had upset him on many occasions in the past.
And Mr Edmond went on to say he did not feel it proper that one person should be both chairman and secretary of a community council, as Mr Fotheringham is, because he believes such a situation does not allow for minutes of meetings to truly reflect what was said and what was decided.
But Mr Edmond added: ‘I think it is regrettable the community council under John’s direction has decided to target the ABC group in an effort to take over the funding that this small community group worked hard to obtain.
‘Why cannot the community council accept that benefit funding arising from very remote and localised hydro schemes, such as the Loch Arkaig schemes, should remain within that affected area, when there is no significant impact or detriment to anyone outwith the area?
‘The community council and its SCIO are likely to be in receipt of very large sums of benefit funding very soon from Stronelairg, Corrie Glas and Jahama Estates, alongside which the ABC’s 20-odd thousand pounds per year will pale into complete insignificance.
‘The ABC is committed to using this funding to maximise the benefit both now and 40 years hence not just for the ABC area, but the wider community council area as well.’
Commenting on the status of the community council, Mr Fotheringham, who took on the role of council secretary when the person in the role recently stepped down to become treasurer and no successor was forthcoming, confirmed an interim election would be announced on September 18 with nomination papers to be submitted between September 19 and October 3 to fill the five current vacancies on the community council.
‘Our three co-opted members have all intimated they will stand so this unfortunate occurrence will be short lived,’ he said.
‘Also, fortunately, SSE has intimated it will not affect our award from the Stronelairg Wind Farm Fund.’
Asked to respond to Mr Edmond’s criticism of his leadership of the community council, which was circulated among community council and Highland councillors via email, Mr Fotheringham said he and his family had found Mr Edmond’s remarks ‘very distressing’ and that he was now considering taking legal advice.
The ABC group says its community benefit fund managers will meet later this month when the situation will be discussed.