Recycling row divides North Kessock
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GREEN-minded members of a Black Isle community have been left scratching their heads over just where to go to recycle their bottles.
A long-running saga in North Kessock has seen glass recycling bins intended for community use shifted under the Kessock Bridge, close to the lifeboat station. The site is well away from their original location at the recently revamped North Kessock ticket office, which was once used by ferry passengers and is now a community hub.
The issue was raised back in December by Knockbain Community Council chairman John Stott, who said a public meeting in September 2017 to discuss the issue concluded with general agreement that they should be moved into the local car park close to the ticket office.
He says it was also agreed at the meeting that following the revamp, the bins would be returned to a newly developed coastal garden next to the ticket office with suitable screening.
Local resident and Green Party activist Anne Thomas said the disagreement over the recycling bins has been unfortunate. She said: “There was a public meeting in which the majority of residents agreed upon a solution and it’s disappointing that people have gone back on that”.
She stressed it was important that people continue to recycle, adding: “We need to get back to doing our bit for the environment.”
Maggie Macdonald, the chairwoman of the North Kessock Ticket Office Project (NKTOP) said the community council was being inconsiderate: “The community council have decreed that the bins will be placed beside our new seaside garden, despite the wishes of all of the residents who live there. We think it’s unacceptable because we’re trying to create a garden for visitors and locals to enjoy.
“The old ticket office had lain there like third world country for 30 years and the NKTOP are trying to make it an attractive project.”
Locations considered for the bottle bins include the community hall, in the centre of the village. Ms MacDonald argues that this is the best location, adding: “It’s in the centre of the village and it’s where a lot of glass is used. With all the events that go on in the hall, the bins would be ideal there.”
However Seoras Swanson, chairperson of the village hall, said it was an unsuitable place for recycling bins due to lack of space in the car park and the large number of children who use the facility: “We have a lot of children’s activities there so it’s not really a safe place to have them there.
The result of the meeting was that once the pier office had been done-up and they had built their seaside garden, there would be discreet fencing put up to house the bins. As far as I was concerned that was the result of the meeting, and then suddenly the bins disappeared.”
Due to complaints by residents, the bins were removed by the council on October 17 last year for three months as a temporary measure. Cllr Craig Fraser referred to the situation as ‘bottle-gate’, he said: “What was discussed at the public meeting, when local residents had their opportunity to say how they felt was taken on board, and a location was selected.”
But after being returned to the community car park by the council, the bottle bins were moved under the Kessock Bridge by a disgruntled resident. Mr Stott fears that person could be risking lives. “It’s right beside the lifeboat station, which means... extra traffic on the road could delay the [RNLI] getting to the lifeboat”.
