Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Assurance over abattoir service given by council

Crofters say access to an abattoir on the islands is key to their survival.
Crofters say access to an abattoir on the islands is key to their survival.

Western Isles Council says it is committed to maintaining abattoir services in Lewis and Harris.

The comments were made in response to concerns from the Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF) that the current abattoir site in Stornoway could be sold to a developer.

The idea of selling the site to a developer was discussed at a meeting of the council’s policy and resources committee earlier this month.

SCF board member Donald Mackinnon said the Stornoway abattoir was central to crofting in Lewis and Harris.

“Before any discussions begin about the sale of the current site assurances must be given to the crofting community about where a new facility will be located and how its construction will be funded,” he said.

“Importantly, planning permission should be secured. A decision to sell the current abattoir site without these in place risks the future provision of abattoir facilities in Lewis and Harris and, as a result, the future of crofting itself in the area.”

He said the current abattoir facility was in need of improvement, but this could be achieved at the current site.

“Undoubtedly there are changes that the crofters of Lewis and Harris would like to see, not least the extension of opening times outwith the autumn season,” added Mr Mackinnon.

A spokesman from the council said it had no intention to either discontinue the abattoir service or move the service without provision for a new facility being in place.

He said: “The service remains critical to the crofting community and will only be amended or relocated in consultation with the sector.

“The report to the policy and resources committee overviewed that an approach had been made by a developer. There is no suggestion in the report of a sale or unplanned relocation of the service without further detailed consideration.”