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November 19, 2004
Saving Rob Roy's birthplace
Scottish Water intend to sell Glengyle House, the birthplace of Rob Roy MacGregor. Richard Lochhead has laid a motion before Parliament to oppose this. He said:
“Scottish Water’s decision to sell off a piece of Scottish history to the highest bidder is disgraceful. The birthplace of one of Scotland’s most famous men should not be sold off without an agreement as to what the site will be used for. It would be a tragedy if Rob Roy’s birthplace was auctioned as there has been no debate about the new use for this publicly owned asset… . . Scottish Water has already allowed the site to become rundown and we need to step in to ensure that this piece of Scottish heritage is preserved.”
Perhaps Glengyle House should be restored and opened to the public as a visitors centre for the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park? I see that the house is at the western end of Loch Katrine. Could the road access be improved?
This case highlights the need for a effective procedure for intervention when land and buildings of national importance come on the open market. This could be similar to the system whereby the state is given the opportunity of buying important paintings and other moveable works of art before they are auctioned.
Public bodies should also be required to maintain and not neglect heritage sites in their ownership. There is not much point in having a listing system for buildings if it is disregarded.
www.snp.org/index_hires.php?pageName=news/newsdetail.php?newsID=2617
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4025559.stm
www.clangregor.org/glengyle-house/
Posted by Simon Holledge at November 19, 2004 02:50 AM
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