Dingwall and Seaforth goes it alone as Highland Council agrees move to split area committee amid calls for 'true localism'
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A HIGHLAND Council area committee in Ross-shire is set to be split in two following a successful motion tabled at its latest meeting.
Members agreed to establish an area committee for Dingwall and Seaforth.
Dingwall and Seaforth ward members "agreed on the view that for effective governance and local accountability, decision-making has to be closest to the people for whom their decisions are important".
The ward was previously a part of the Black Isle, Dingwall and Seaforth Committee.
The Black Isle ward will now also have an area committee going forward.
Speaking about the move last week to our sister paper, The North Star, Cllr Alister Mackinnon (Dingwall and Seaforth) said it was prompted by dissatisfaction with the status quo and a hope that by being more responsible for their own area they could effect more positive changes.
He argued that it would represent “true localism” and allow elected members to help the ward prosper throughout the recovery period.
Cllr Mackinnon said: “We felt we want to be in charge when we have discretionary funds and capital funds, we want to be able to focus on what our constituents need rather than being part of a multi-ward area committee and I firmly believe that this would be true localism.
“There was the incident regarding the Cromarty ferry when we were told that we would be giving £2500 of our discretionary budget towards, though that didn’t happen and there were also discussions over St Clement’s.
“We just felt there were discussions taking place that we needed to take control of and what was really encouraging is that we were all in favour of this. We can be in charge of helping the economy and the projects that will benefit our area.”
The motion – signed by councillors Alister MacKinnon, Graham MacKenzie, Margaret Paterson and Angela MacLean states: “We are strongly of the view that for effective governance and local accountability, decision-making has to be closest to the people for whom our decisions are so important.
“As we move towards recovery we will require to work even more closely with our communities and businesses and to have the ability to quickly take decisions working in partnership that will improve the outcomes for the people we represent.
“We ask Highland Council to agree to give Dingwall and Seaforth ward the right to establish an area committee to enable local decisions to be in local hands.”
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