Consultants plan dumped by committee

By Lorna Paterson

Published: 09 December, 2008

CITY councillors have rejected plans to spend up to £10,000 of public money hiring in consultants to advise on sites for Inverness's Three Virtues statues.

advertising

Instead, after a long debate yesterday, they have agreed the project should be put out for tender.

Contractors will be asked to provide a quotation on how much it would cost to erect the three statues at each of the two preferred sites — next to Ness Bank Church and at the Castle embankment.

Potential contractors will also be asked to put together a feasibility study for both locations.

The decision was made at a meeting of the Inverness City Committee despite warnings from council officers that it was unlikely anyone would come forward with a price for the project.

Inverness city manager David Haas said he had received clear advice from officers elsewhere in the authority that the design and build contract would not come forward without the consultants' input.

The issue sparked a lively and long debate among councillors where opinions were very much divided on how to best progress with the project.

The results of a consultation in August revealed the garden area outside the church as the public's favourite location for the statues, followed closely by the castle.

Out of respect for those who took part in the exercise, Councillor Donnie Kerr (Inverness Central) said their views should be taken into account.

"We do not require £10,000 to spend on consultants," he said.

"We should respect the view of the public and should be giving them their first choice," he added, stating that contractors should be sought for relocating the statues to Ness Bank only.

Councillor Thomas Prag (Inverness South) disagreed saying he would be sorry to see the castle site scrapped from the list.

The committee previously agreed to set aside £40,000 to help fund the relocation project and to date £20,000 has already been spent on purchasing and transporting the figures from Orkney.

"What puzzles me is that we agreed a sum a while back to help get us to this point," said Councillor Prag, supporting officer's plans to bring in consultants.

"We still have money in the budget, what's the problem?"

His remarks were criticised by Councillor Drew Hendry (Aird and Loch Ness) who claimed that in difficult economic times the authority should be spending as little as possible to get things done and should make the most of in-house resources.

"To say we have already put aside £40,000 so let's just spend it is not on," he told colleagues.

"Council staff are under threat at the moment because it is difficult times.

"We should be giving them as much work as possible."

l.paterson@inverness-courier.co.uk