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.

First minister urged to back ambitious plans for Orkney tourist attraction

Maeshowe in Orkney
Maeshowe in Orkney

Nicola Sturgeon has said she will be “happy” to encourage new discussions about the future of an Orkney tourist attraction to take place.

Neolithic chambered cairn Maeshowe was briefly closed and has since reopened with a new shuttle bus service after concerns were raised about the safety of its surroundings.

The issue was raised in the Scottish Parliament yesterday by Orkney MSP Liam McArthur, who called on Nicola Sturgeon to encourage Historic Environment Scotland to act on planning permission for a new visitor centre, car park and pedestrian underpass.

Responding, the First Minister confirmed she would be “happy to encourage those discussions to proceed.”

Following the exchange Mr McArthur said: “Maeshowe is a world-class tourist attraction and therefore deserves to be served by world-class facilities that allow the many visitors to our islands to experience Orkney’s rich history.

“While it is good news that Maeshowe will now be open to the public, the current arrangements can only be a short term fix.

“I welcome the First Minister’s assurances today that she will seek to encourage discussions between Historic Environment Scotland, Orkney Islands Council and key stakeholders to take forward plans for a more appropriate, long term solution. This needs to reflect the international significance of this site and its importance to Orkney’s tourism sector.”

Mr McArthur is due to meet with HES chief executive Alex Patterson about the issue.

The agency confirmed earlier this week that a new shuttle bus service will run to Maeshowe from Skara Brae.

Mr Patterson said it was an “interim measure” and confirmed HES is working to find a “more sustainable” long term solution.