Sirs,
The Scottish Government has managed to get the Crown Estate to revert some of the income from seabed rents to coastal communities. This is, in effect, a cash-
Normal logic dictates that the communities far removed from the centre of administration which contribute most to Crown Estate income, are more dependant on the sea and are subject to the vagaries of the sea should benefit most from the dribble of Crown Estate money recycled back to the islands.
The comhairle is responsible for allocating £1.7 million of this Crown Estate cash-
The comhairle has nine wards of three or four elected councillors with comparable population numbers to represent this, and yet has developed a mechanism that carves up the Crown Estate cash into twelve portions with the extra portions being in the Uig and Lochs Ward plus the Tong township.
These additional portions of funding are a way to top slice the cake. Two of the additional slices are in the convenor’s ward and the other is a township adjacent to the leader’s ward.
The set-
Calum MacMillan
Councillor for South Uist, Eriskay, Barra and Vatersay.
Letter: Carving up the coastal cash-
12 February 2020