A SENIOR Lochaber councillor has put his name to a motion ahead of today’s (Thursday) meeting of Highland Council, urging the local authority to make it clear to Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that its members feel betrayed over the on-going centralisation of services away from this region.
The plea for the local authority to involve Ms Sturgeon has been sparked by the row over the proposed closure of the police control room at Inverness.
The motion, submitted jointly by Andrew Baxter, councillor for Ardnamurchan and Fort William, together with Council Leader Councillor Margaret Davidson, demands an explanation over when and by whom the decision was made to recommend to the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) that police jobs be moved from Inverness to the Central Belt. Today’s motion follows the recent presentation by Police Scotland of its plans to members at the council’s Lochaber Area Committee. That presentation saw Mr Baxter, chairman of Lochaber Area Committee, publicly express dismay over what he said seemed like a ‘fait accompli’ regarding the closure proposal.