Cattle could be set free to roam Plockton again

The ban preventing cattle from freely roaming the picturesque streets of Plockton expires next month and the local grazings committee says it will not agree to it being extended.

The centuries-old practice that saw cows grazing on public grassed areas, the beach and private gardens was halted 15 years ago in the wake of an E.coli outbreak and followed an agreement between the grazings committee and landowners the National Trust for Scotland.

But a public meeting organised by the grazings committee for the village hall on Monday night will see local residents informed that when the ban expires, cows will be set free from their enclosures.

Grazings committee clerk Catherine Will says the deal was only for 15 years and that Monday’s meeting is simply to inform people it will be ending.

‘The ban expires at the end of November and will not be continued. We won’t agree to it being extended,’ she said.

‘The meeting is to explain to people who are unfamiliar with crofting what it is all about and telling them the facts – and the facts are crofters will again have the right to allow their animals to graze freely.’

However, as well as lingering health worries over a reversal of the ban, there are also concerns about livestock being allowed to mingle with the increasing number of tourist vehicles coming to Plockton, the setting for the hit 1990s’ BBC television series Hamish MacBeth.

A former chairman of Plockton Community Council believes there is no way cattle can once again be allowed to roam the village’s streets due to the huge increase in traffic.

Plockton native Charlie MacRae told the Lochaber Times this week he believed 90 per cent of village residents opposed the plan.

‘I was chairman of Plockton and District Community Council 15 years ago when the last public meeting was held as there had been so many complaints,’ he said.

‘There is very little grazing in the village now and with the increase in traffic, we can’t possibly have the cows back. I reckon it will be a noisy, crowded meeting.’

A representative of the National Trust for Scotland is expected to be in attendance at Monday night’s meeting.

Scenes like this could be common again in Plockton if a ban on cows being free to roam at will is not extended.

Former Plockton Community Council chairman Charlie MacRae says there will be strong opposition to the plan.