Highland Council consulting on Common Good property list for Grantown
Highland Council has launched a public consultation on the proposed contents of a Common Good Fund Asset Register for Grantown.
The community has until November 16 to comment on the items which include The Square, Grantown War Memorial, Mossie Road play park, Grantown clock and bell by the town's museum and the Regality Cross.
The local authority currently holds a small financial Common Good Fund for the former burgh of Grantown.
However, a full and detailed investigation has been undertaken into land and property titles that may also be Common Good and, as a result, a list of potential property has been compiled.
The law requires the council to first conduct a public consultation on a list of property – which can include buildings, land, artwork, regalia, and funds – it is proposing to include.
The statutory consultation should run for a period of 12 weeks, however, this is being extended to 14 weeks to take account of the ongoing Covid situation.
A council spokesperson said: "We are keen to involve the community in this process to ensure that all Grantown Common Good property is identified and included.
"The community council and other community bodies will be notified and invited to make representations.
"However, the list will be widely publicised and available for public representations to be made.
"The council must investigate and respond to any representations received. Representations, responses, and any final decision will be published on the council website.
"Local authorities must also have in place a process for regular review of the asset register once published.
The list of property proposed to be included in the Common Good Asset Register for Grantown can be found here
Responses can be submitted either by email to common.good@highland.gov.uk or by post to Sara Murdoch, The Highland Council HQ, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, IV3 5NX.
Some interesting facts on some of the town's listed items:
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* The town clock and bell were purchased using money raised locally originally intended for relief for soldiers wounded in the Napoleonic War but never sent. In 1824 a tower was built to house the clock and bell at Speyside House. It was removed in the 1980s when Speyside House was converted into flats. In 2006, Grantown Museum restored the clock and built a campanile to house the bell. The clock is displayed in the museum.
* The original Regality Cross erected in the current town of Grantown in 1766 went missing without trace. In 2015, the 'new' Regality Cross was erected to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the town being founded.
* Grantown's war memorial was designed by Alexander Marshall MacKenzie and unveiled by the Countess of Seafield on 18 September, 1921.
