Sunday February 24th. 2008
WE would be grateful if members would renew their subscription as soon as possible
to help support the Club, which provides heating for our churches.
Cheques should be made payable to St. Margaret’s 100 Club, and cheques and money
should be handed either to Ishbel Campbell, who runs the 100 Club, or to the Chapel
House, or when you are at Church. Last year's subscriptions have just run out, and
have paid for the oil and the prize money over the past year.
We look forward to another
successful year with the Club to help keep our parishioners warm at all the masses
and services.
SUBSCRIPTIONS NOW DUE
Last Years Prize-
March 2007…..Paolo Berardelli
April 20007… Ronnie MacIntosh
May 2007……. Richard Sidgwick
June 2007….. Marion Jonstone
July 2007……. Catherine Mac Kinnon
August 2007….Ishbel Wilson
September 2007…...Elaine Steckler
October 2007……...Vincent Toal
November 2007…...Marion Johnston
December………….Peter Rose & Rosamaria Berardelli
January 2008……….Frank MacKenzie
February 2008……..Ann Donaldson
Future of Roy Bridge School
Latest progress report (Lochaber News)
PLANS for a two-
The proposal for the £399,000 expansion was deferred by Ross, Skye and Lochaber planning applications and review committee on Tuesday after a seven votes to four.
Officials were told by councillors that the extension proposed by Community Schools (Highland) amounted to "piecemeal" development as it did not take into account an anticipated population boom in the Spean Bridge and Roy Bridge area in the coming years.
The extension is required to accommodate the 27 pupils of neighbouring Roy Bridge Primary School from August 2008. Highland Council has already decided to close the Roy Bridge school, despite huge opposition from parents.
However, a local action group, backed by the Scottish Rural Schools Network, and headed by Marie Clare Russell, has forced a review of all financial information which led to the merger decision. The outcome of this review, being conducted independently of the council, is expected by the end of February, and could have serious implications for Highland Council if it backs the action group's contention that important financial information presented to councillors was flawed.
On Tuesday, the majority of the planning committee backed Lochaber councillor Bill Clark's motion, seconded by Cllr Eddie Hunter, to defer the Spean extension plan. Cllr Clark said it amounted to piecemeal development,
which did not take into account future population increases, and could result in Spean Bridge having to be extended again in the future.
Education bosses predict that the number of pupils at the new combined school will be 128 by 2010, and will peak at 140 in 2015, remaining within the 145 pupil capacity of the extended school.
However, the council's own figures which take into account "windfall" development
in the Spean Bridge/Roy Bridge area, suggest that the school will already be over
capacity by 2010 with a roll of 146 pupils, rising to a peak of 164 pupils in 2014-
On those projections, which the council argues are based on an "unlikely" scale of
housing development in the area, the school would only fall back below 145 pupils
in 2019-
Cllr Eddie Hunter told the L.N:"I'm delighted that the majority of colleagues on the committee supported the deferral. The application should never have been before the committee anyway before the political decision to close Roy Bridge is sorted out completely at Highland Council level.
"It seems to have been a misunderstanding between planning officials and their education counterparts. However, the right decision was taken at the planning meeting."
Sandy Longmuir, chairman of the Scottish Rural Schools Network said: "We're please the council has made the right decision here and it is good to see that a number of councillors are now looking much more seriously at the whole Roy Bridge closure decision."
Stuart Taylor, Lochaber News
