AS VISITOR, and vehicle, numbers have noticeably soared in the last few days of sunshine at the Storr, the Staffin Community Trust (SCT) has secured the funding required for an Options Appraisal of the roadside site owned by the local authority.
And three excellent bids have now been lodged by tenderers looking to carry out the hugely important contract which will review all the options at the location, the estimated costs and community and economic benefit for each one investigated.
SCT is currently assessing the submissions from the trio of consultant teams and hopes to award the contact in June. SCT is grateful to have received funding from Highland Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Scottish Land Fund for the contract.
Earlier this year SCT wrote to Highland Council regarding the 82-hectare site at the Storr from the A855 roadside upwards and expressed its interest in purchasing the land. It followed a community consultation in Staffin which strongly backed the organisation managing or purchasing the area near the hugely popular visitor landmark.
A busy Storr car park.
SCT has been in productive talks with the council’s development and infrastructure service since 2014 about the visitor experience at the location, which attracts thousands of people each year but experiences severe parking congestion and lacks amenities, such as toilets. Those parking issues have been noticeably apparent this week with vehicles straddling both sides of the road.
Once the Options Appraisal commences the local community will be consulted and receive regular updates from the SCT. The contract will be completed later this year and will provide the information required by SCT for it to take the next steps.
If anybody has any questions about the process please contact Hugh Ross at the SCT office on 562 464, e-mail staffin.ldo@gmail.com or call in to see him.