Historian and councillor David Alston has voiced concerns about past management of common good funds and called for control to be handed, as far as possible, back to local communities.

The Black Isle councillor has delved into burgh records and has discovered that the foreshore at Rosemarkie and Fortrose is part of the common good, but does not appear to be recorded as such.

He said, “The old burghs usually had a pretty good grasp of what they owned.

“In 1928 the burgh made a claim to the foreshore which the Board of Trade chose not to contest, recognising that there was good evidence from the burgh charters and other documents that the claim was justified. The issue of ownership has arisen in the context of the old Ardersier-Chanonry ferry.

“I’m not sure if there is any current monetary value in the ownership of the foreshore, but it is important that it is recorded as a common good asset. Foreshores can suddenly become very important — and valuable, as at Nigg.”

Common good funds in many cases date back hundreds of years, and are worth millions of pounds. Tain, Invergordon, Dingwall, Cromarty and Fortrose and Rosemarkie all have funds of differing sizes and complexity in Ross-shire, all originally established for the benefit of specifically defined communities.

The assets are community-owned but are typically administered by councillors who serve as trustees.

The funds have in the past been jealously guarded, and most recently came into the public spotlight when Inverness councillors voted to allow £250,000 of the city’s fund to be used for the fireworks display marking the end of Highland 2007 — a highly contentious decision.

Highland Councillor David Alston, left, and community councillor Okain MacLennan on the foreshore at Chanonry Point. Ian Rhind, 01349 877218

Cllr Alston said, “These are community-owned assets and the first duty must be to make sure that we know what the assets are.

“Records were not well kept in the past.

“I would call for action at a local level to establish a full record of common good assets and restore control of the common good, as far as is possible, to the local community.

“There is concern in Fortrose about the management of the common good in the past, and concern that there is no complete record of the assets.”

He added, “Similarly, in Cromarty I think that there are assets which should be recorded as part of the common good but are not.

“The area known as the Kirkie Brae around the Gaelic Chapel was gifted to the town as a war memorial park, and I think this would make it part of the common good assets.

“There are also moveable assets which were gifted to the burgh at various times which are not recorded and some seem to have gone missing. Some of this can only be resolved by going through the old burgh records and there is a role here for volunteers, prepared to sit down with some dusty volumes and note any property which may be common good. I would be very happy, both as a historian and a councillor, to work with community representatives to gather this information.”

Fortrose and Rosemarkie Community Council chairman, Okain MacLennan, said, “The community council had raised concerns about the lack of adequate recording of the common good and David Alston has been very helpful in doing some further research with us on this.”

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