Essential reading material for all students of Sandown matters- Westies write to the four Nairn Highland Councillors

The West Community Council have put into the public domain a letter they have written to Nairn's four Highland Councillors prior to the meeting in Inverness on Thursday that has profound implications for the future of the Sandown Lands. Their letter begins:

"The inclusion of an item about the Sandown Lands and Nairn’s Common Good on the Highland Council agenda, and the text of the associated paper (23/13) by the Director of Finance, have only just become publicly known and available – less than a week before the meeting.

We understand that, as elected Councillors, you have been in dialogue with Council officials about the way forward.  But we remain concerned at the complete absence of local consultation or discussion, and about the very short notice between publication of the officials’ recommendations and the proposed timescale for decision.

This is a serious and complex issue, of major importance to the community of Nairn.  We recognise the need to explore possible ways of resolving it.  But we have a number of concerns about both the process and the substance of the official recommendations.  We think the context has been insufficiently explained, and the options proposed are almost all inappropriate. "

We would urge all Gurnites who have shown an interest in the Sandown Lands issue over recent years to make a cup of tea (or pour a dram) and read the full letter from the West Community Council plus a detailed annex which goes into considerable detail on points around, 1) Conflict of Interst, 2) Timescale for Resolution, 3) Attribution of Responsibility, 4) Identification of Options. The letter is available online here and the annex here and we promise you that they are both a good read.