While it's somewhat ironic that people so close to the county town could be cut-off so easily, the situation is the latest manifestation of budget cuts to Highland Council's winter maintenance programme.

To be fair, the local authority does not have a statutory duty to clear unadopted roads - and has even been struggling this winter to clear routes much further up the pecking order.

Nevertheless a few short years ago, the chances are that such routes would have been cleared with a portion of the budget set aside for unadopted roads. Depending on who you listen to, Highland Council faces making budget cuts of anything up to £60m over the next few years. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that things are going to get worse before they get better.

The constraint on funds is reflected in the fact that the local authority has now taken the step of establishing a so-called citizens panel to help it make decisions about where people's priorities lie. The idea - if those of us paying council tax embrace it willingly - is not without merit. Whilst unlikely to produce a clear-cut consensus, it should at least provide solid data from which to begin the painful process of making cuts.

As we report elsewhere, the cry for help from one fed-up community council this week points to an attitude of continuing apathy when it comes to the average householder's feelings about local politics.

The new ward system was set up on the premise that grass roots community councils reflecting local opinion would feed in to the Highland Council decision-making process, strengthening the sense of democracy in the process. Some areas are stronger than others - among them the Black Isle, the very ward, ironically enough, affected by the latest community council setback.

The way is now open for the community-minded souls of Avoch and Killen to come forward to lend a hand.

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