Scottish Community Councils came into being in 1975 as a result of the passing of the Local Governments (Scotland) Act 1973. Their principal purpose is to act as channels for the opinions of local communities.
To enable our particular Community Council to function more effectively we were given a new Constitution in April 2009, the old one having proved to be too large and unwieldy. The new slimmed-down Council now consists of 9 members, elected from the community for a period of 3 years, plus, ex officio, the 4 elected Highland Councillors whose wards include parts of our catchment area. The Council also has the right to co-opt members for specific reasons.
The geographical area delineated as Contin is roughly lozenge-shaped, stretching as it does from Glenmarksie in the west to Cnoc Mor in the east, from the middle of Loch Garve and Rogie Burn in the north to the River Conon in the south, but excluding Ulladale, Kinellan and Strathpeffer. Practically speaking, in terms of the roads, our district runs from Tarvie and Craigdarroch to the village of Contin and Jamestown, with Loch Achilty right in the middle. Contin is designated as belonging to Ward 6 of the Highland Council. This consists of Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh. Robbie Bain is the civil service Ward Manager.
The Community Council meets six times a year at 7.30 pm on the first Monday of odd months in the Community Centre (the old School building). Office holders of the Council are Secretary - Isobel Stewart, Treasurer – Kate Finlayson, Chair – Laurence Gunner and Vice-Chair - Andrew Finlayson. Other councillors are Wattie Finlayson, Sid Fraser, John Mackenzie, Roy Mackenzie, and Fraser Stewart, with Muriel Cockburn co-opted as special adviser for paths cycle paths. The four Highland Councillors are Richard Greene, Isabelle Campbell, Audrey Sinclair, and Jean Urquhart. Members of the Community are most welcome at the meetings of the Community Council and are invited to speak by the Chair. Items for discussion are to be sent, please, to Isobel Stewart (ku.oc.evreseerf.7581trawets|lebosi#ku.oc.evreseerf.7581trawets|lebosi or 421 482 or 12 Torview) by 24th of the preceding month.
Recent concerns of the Council have been the setting up of a Trust to manage the development of a purpose-built Community Centre (together with the sale of the old school buildings and the erection of 10 low-cost housing units), speed management through the built-up areas of the village, the Management of the Village Hall, the encouragement of the social activities in the village, the impact of the Fairburn Windfarm, active steps to manage dog litter on the village paths, the Senior Citizens’ Party and future plans generally to enhance the life of Contin.
As a village community Contin is invited by the Highland Council to make its voice heard and really it’s up to us to decide what matters to us and what it is we want to say.
