Islands MP joins in Sunday golf row
MacNeil to demand cash rethink
Published:
WESTERN Isles MP Angus MacNeil is to write to sportscotland to protest at it possibly withholding £75,000 from Harris Golf Course.
The SNP politician said the agency was “heavy-handed” in its dealings with the Scarista club.
The Press and Journal reported yesterday that the head of sportscotland said that it would not fund facilities in the Outer Hebrides unless they open on Sundays.
Some churches on the islands insist that the Sabbath is a day of rest as indicated by the Bible.
Sportscotland refused to give £75,000 to Harris Golf Club for its course and clubhouse improvements.
The money is half of the £155,000 project.
Highland and Islands Enterprise and Western Isles Council, the other funders, are not insisting on seven-day opening.
Mr MacNeil said: “I could not believe that sportscotland could withhold the entire grant of £75,000 from Harris Golf Course on the grounds they have. This is not an issue about Sunday golf, but an issue of being treated fairly and equitably. Sportscotland has shown a very heavy-handed manner in this instance. I am also writing Minister for Sport Stewart Maxwell, to get a grip of this quango and ensure that Harris Golf Club benefits from a first-rate facility in what is a first-rate setting.”
Sportscotland chairwoman Louise Martin said it could no longer fund facilities that only open six days a week.
