YOUR VIEWS: Council ‘does not understand Common Good’
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A response to a recent article on the Inverness Common Good Fund plus views on city centre traffic and bus services.
Council ‘does not understand Common Good’
In response to the recent article regarding the Inverness Common Good (“People urged to ‘reclaim’ fund,” Courier, 9/12/22) a council spokesman claimed “all common good property within the Highland area is owned by Highland Council”.
This “misconception” has been clarified by a recent (2015) judgement from the Court of Session where Lord Drummond Young stated: “It (the common good property) was thus the ordinary property of a Burgh, held for the general purposes of the community. It is owned by the community and the town council or other local authority is regarded in law as simply the manager of the property and as representing the community.”
We are therefore faced with the fact that the spokesman for the custodians of the Common Good are in ignorance of the basic principles of the Common Good.
The Highland Council are not the owners of the property in the Inverness Common Good, they are its custodians, who appear to be unaware of the principles of the funds under their stewardship.
Under the terms of Section 8, subsections 104 and 106, of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 the council as the custodians of the Common Good are obliged to consult the community in respect of any sale, or change of use, of Common Good property.
The Inverness Town House is currently a local authority administrative facility but upon their withdrawal the use of the property must, essentially, be changed, thus demanding the consultation with the community.
The act defines these consultees as community councils and other property constitutes interested parties such as civic trusts and other bodies representing the community.
The council have passed an arbitrary motion to withdraw from the town house, thus depriving the Common Good of approx £300,000 pa, thus diminishing its ability to fulfil its function.
Not only did the council act contrary to the act, they betrayed their obligations as trustees of the Common Good.
Betrayal or ignorance… both!
John West
Dores Road
Inverness
More views on traffic plans
Courier columnist Colin Campbell’s queries about whether plans to close Academy Street to most traffic will ever really happen continued to draw comment.
“Folk in cars don’t shop. Period. As a city centre store manager for over eight years, I can categorically confirm that drivers don’t tend to drive up to any shops to pop in. They park in the Eastgate or Rose Street car parks and... walk. There are no drive-through units in the town centre. There’s a reason for that. I remember driving down High Street, pausing at the traffic lights outside HBoS. It seems to work fine now that the cars have been banned! Oh, and regarding the “stroke of genius” that is the NC500, good idea, but the increased traffic on B roads cause more problems than they solve!” – Sandy Lyall, Inverness
“What an awful article, dripping with bitter hatred of the SNP. What has the SNP got to do with Academy Street. They are not the majority in Highland Council. Colin Campbell needs an education, Hadrian’s Wall is wholly in England. Why on earth has improvements to Academy Street been turned into an anti-independence rant.” – William Jappy, Culloden
Prison to throw open doors
The Scottish Prison Service revealed plans to open up its visitor centre at Porterfield Prison in Inverness as a warm space for those struggling with soaring energy costs and plummeting temperatures from January 9. It was also teaming up with charity Action for Children to offer “warm boxes” containing vital supplies to beat the big freeze.
“Fantastic work by the team, well done for offering those who are vulnerable a safe, warm space. HMP Inverness have always served the community well.” – Sharon Holloway
New bus timetables
Stagecoach announced it is changing its timetables in Inverness, Nairn, Aviemore, Black Isle and Caithness from January 4.
“Great. They’ll be a no show at slightly different times.” – Kim Corbett
“Advance notice of more buses that will not turn up.” – David Greenlees
“Lovely. No buses at a different time. Excellent.” – Bonnie Sime
“Let’s face it, any improvement by Stagecoach will be because the council are taking 12 routes in house, mostly school routes. This will then free up 12 Stagecoach buses and drivers as of January 4.” – David Brown
“Nothing will change, they tried so many areas to improve bus services ie change the times, change the route, change the bus numbers to look for improvement but it never worked.” – Koonoo Campbell
“It’s for the new line of Invisible buses to cater for people who just love standing at bus stops for hours on end.” – Chris Binnie
“Never known a bus company change its timetable as much.” – Andrew Weir
“More of a ‘dream-sheet’ than a timetable, surely?” – Brian Hatton
Welcome for new café
New hospitality venue Good Craic Café opened its doors on December 5 in Inverness’s High Street.
“It has a lovely atmosphere and delicious food. I’m going tomorrow. Second time in one week, and it’ll be my first choice in Inverness from now on.” – Anita Duffy
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