Convener clarifies Council capital funding budget statement
The Highland Council’s Convener Sandy Park has expressed his delight at the huge public support for Highland Lights on Saturday night when 20,000 attended the torchlight procession and fireworks display and another estimated 30,000 watched from various vantage points around the Kessock Bridge.
He also clarified the position regarding a report being presented to The Highland Council’s Education Culture and Sport (ECS) Committee on Thursday, concerning the Service’s capital programme.
He said: “What a fantastic night we enjoyed on Saturday. The display was magnificent and will live in the memory. The turn out was amazing and everyone I have spoken to thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle of the torchlight procession and the fireworks’ display on the Kessock Bridge.”
Councillor Park explained that elected members had already agreed the ECS Capital Programme for 2007-8, which he said was used to fund building projects and could not have been used to fund an event, such as Highland Lights. The gross budget for 2007-8 is £6.815 million of which £1.646 million has been spent. This was in line with anticipated progress with a number of projects, including the community grants not expected to be completed and claimed until early 2008.
He said: “The programme is progressing well overall but there have been delays with Ferrycroft/Lairg Auction Mart, Sutherland Sports Facility and Caithness Regional Sports Facility. However, by the end of the financial year at the end of March, only an estimated £445,000 will be unspent and this money will be carried forward into the 2008-9 budget. No monies will be lost.
“It is also important to point out that monies in the capital programme are for building projects and the monies cannot be used for funding events, such as Highland Lights. In addition, the Education, Culture and Sport capital budget is a Highland Council budget, and therefore any inference that Highland 2007 could have used its monies to support Highland Lights is misleading.”