Lochaber councils fold due to lack of volunteers
Four Lochaber community councils – Caol, Glenfinnan, Mallaig and Spean Bridge/ Roy Bridge and Achnacarry – have failed to attract at least half the maximum membership needed to re-form.
They were among 16 community councils across The Highland Council area which will not be established. These also include Portree and Braes, Glendale, Uig and Waternish on Skye.
The next opportunity for nominations to be made to those community councils will be in February 2020.
The news follows the recent call for candidates who want to serve on the Highland community councils to come forward, which saw 120 councils attracting sufficient interest to allow them to form from noon tomorrow (Friday). Twenty community councils received more nominations than their maximum membership. These included Ardgour, Dornie and District; Glenelg and Arnisdale; Kinlochleven; Plockton and West Ardnamurchan and elections will take place for these councils using a postal ballot.
Ballot papers will be posted out on Friday November 15 and must be returned by noon on Wednesday December 4.
MSP Kate Forbes has spoken of her disappointment that nine community councils in her Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency are to fold.
‘Community councils are a critically important element of local democracy. They can bring together different views and represent communities. It is a shame to see so many community councils dissolving, in part because of a lack of volunteers,’ commented Ms Forbes.
‘I recognise it is a difficult job, but it can make all the difference, particularly on issues like planning applications.
‘I hope that even if certain community councils have not been able to amass the necessary members, they might be able to do so in the not-too-distant future.’
John Fotheringham, outgoing chairman of Spean Bridge, Roy Bridge and Achnacarry Community Council – who was not standing for re-election – says a large part of the reason for so many community councils failing to attract enough nominations is down to how such bodies are treated by Highland Council.
‘I am sure there were many reasons for their failure to attract volunteers, but our experience, if replicated across Lochaber, might explain why some feel it isn’t worth wasting our valuable time when paid senior officials and councillors clearly don’t feel responding to correspondence from taxpayers and community councillors is part of their remit,’ Mr Fotheringham told the Lochaber Times.
He went on to highlight a complaint which his community council lodged with Highland Council and only received a communication in reply last week – 102 days later.
‘Today they had the audacity to elevate it to a Stage 2 Complaint giving them an additional 20 working days to reply,’ said an angry Mr Fotheringham.
‘This is not an isolated occurrence as we have found in the past that their complaints’ procedure is not fit for purpose. They aspire to many lofty ideals such as localism but nothing changes and nothing will until someone takes responsibility for holding those that are paid by the taxpayer to account. We have tried but volunteers, however committed, are just ignored.’