I WRITE in support of fellow Skye resident Sadie Brown (Letters, February 22).
The problem outlined in her letter was with the current potholes which are so numerous, deep and scattered everywhere across the network that, unless addressed, will lead to a road fatality.
I share Sadie’s concerns and have attended local councillor-lead meetings, met our MSP in person, and had numerous letters in the press over the last two years, including your own publication, about Skye’s infrastructure or lack of it given the island’s ever increasing popularity.
I say “ever increasing” but this is the critical point – at what stage do people start to no longer make a trip to the island because of the lack of investment in infrastructure, including not only adequate and well-maintained roads but the provision of such basics as parking facilities at key locations together with purpose-built public toilets?
I believe we are now at that critical point.
CNN News in America and the Daily Mail in the UK have both recently run features advising people not to travel to Skye!
Highland Region, based in Inverness, recently received a “City and Region Deal” from the Scottish Government.
This was for £315 million to invest in infrastructure projects.
On a population basis alone, Skye should receive more than £10m of this investment.
To date we have heard of not one penny coming our way as it appears to be largely allocated to Inverness, including £14m to build cycle tracks throughout the city.
I have nothing against cycle tracks nor for that matter Inverness, but a local Skye councillor recently advised me that they (Skye councillors) are repeatedly outvoted on any proposals for the island. So clearly the allocation throughout the region is not working as it should.
More oversight from the Scottish Government is required, I think, and it will be interesting to see if The Island Bill has any provisions to address this aspect?
To be fare to Highland Region, it is the size of Belgium with the population of Edinburgh.
It can never raise enough funds from council tax-payers to adequately maintain, never mind upgrade, its extensive and largely rural road network.
Our largely single-track roads were never intended to cater for the volumes of traffic now visiting the Island.
Given these restrictions, the solution must now be one where direct intervention is required from the Scottish Government in Holyrood.
On that basis I would hope that Holyrood could be capable of “going outside the box”.
The SNP and Greens are, after all, both “radical” political parties and I would hope have that capability in mindset thinking.
I would suggest that together they create an “emergency road and infrastructure upgrade proposal for Skye” together with appropriate funding package and with a defined delivery timescale, as time is now of the essence.
To kick the project off I would suggest a joint ministerial meeting of Kate Forbes, our MSP, together with Humza Yousaf, minister for transport and the islands, Fiona Hyslop, minister for tourism, Kevin Stewart, minister for local government, Derek MacKay, Finance Secretary; and Patrick Harvie, co-convenor of the Scottish Greens.
A solution is out there and I am sure this group, working together, could bring the infrastructure of Skye into the 21st century.
Ian Stewart
Uig, Isle of Skye
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel