Veterans vow to replace a welfare service in Inverness after Poppyscotland hub to close
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VETERANS are regrouping in the fight to retain a welfare headquarters in the city after staging a protest.
They may have lost the battle to save Poppyscotland’s Welfare Centre in Strothers Lane but the “war” goes on said organiser ex-Gordons Colin MacMillan (67) after he and friends raised an 800-signature petition.
The centre is closing as officials explore new ways of offering support for the Armed Forces community.
The Inverness facility was the first of its kind outside the central belt when it opened in 2013.
Some 112 veterans were provided with one-to-one support in the year before Covid, with a further 103 supported last year.
Mr MacMillan said: “It is definitely closing so we have to change tactics. We are now seeking charity status with a view to renting a place, perhaps from the council.
“Ideally it would be a drop-in centre, operating Monday to Friday, but also a base for the poppy campaign and where Combat Stress, the mental health wing of the military, can treat people.
“We are forming a committee under Highland Veterans to take this forward.”
Poppyscotland and the Royal British Legion plan to invest £14 million over three years to strengthen and expand UK services.
