Cawdor village to get flower-power?

Cawdor could soon be following a trend set by Ardersier last summer. The Community Council were most impressed on Monday night by Highland Councillor Glynis Sinclair’s suggestion that hanging baskets and tubs were placed around the village. The Council had been discussing Community Initiatives and Glynis told the meeting how a feel good factor had emerged from the Ardersier initiative. She went on to say:

“It would be quite nice if you sort of colour themed it as well, because it is all red doors. You could really colour theme the whole village and if you are talking about the Jubilee, you maybe do the colours of the Union Flag and all these sort of things which would be particularly pretty.”

Glynis is an SNP councillor but obviously a little bit of red, white and blue is still fine by here if the occasion is the right one. The community council set up a sub-committee to take the floral ideas forward.

Cawdor and West Nairnshire usual suspects

This observer headed up to the first meeting of the Cawdor and West Nairnshire Community Council under the new chair Janice Douglas. They seem a competent bunch and their first meeting went very well with Highland Councillors, Sgt Graeme Erskine of Northern Constabulary and Angus McNicoll of Cawdor Estate present too.

Cawdor is a part of Nairnshire but in the best traditions of Glenurquhart Road centralisation it has for some time been part of the Ardersier, Culloden and Croy ward. Thus the presence of Councillors Roddy Balfour and Glynis Sinclair at the meeting. To the best of this observer’s knowledge a lot of the West Nairnshire area is still in Nairnshire (Ward 19) as deemed by the powers that be, and surely the meeting should also have merited the attention of one of the four members that represent that ward. After all, even if they are experienced councillors, are folk that sit on the Inverness City Committee appropriate to represent what is an historical part of the County of Nairnshire? Will any of the candidates for the election in May have restoring Cawdor to Nairnshire proper as part of Ward 19 in their manifestos? Anyway back to the meeting…

The meeting discussed potholes, planning, community improvements, the Cawdor shop and the Jubilee. Janice began by telling the meeting her vision of the purpose of the community council:

“I believe that we are your vehicle for any issues that are brought up within the community, brought to this group for us to take forward to the relevant powers. I’m not sure that we can solve everybody’s problem of every issue within the community but we’ll certainly do our best to address it. But this is your meeting. Now we’ve got some things on the agenda but obviously we would hope for participation from yourselves.” Janice then went on to introduce Angus and Graeme and then a discussion on the state of the roads began.

More from the meeting later. Minutes of the previous meeting here.