Sealladh na Beinne Moire AGM
New directors welcomed as Stòras sets out its stall
Siân Swinton
Sealladh na Beinne Moire held their AGM in Griminish on 14th September where the new members of the board of directors were introduced. Iain Stephen Morrison and Ronald MacKenzie join the re-elected directors Catriona Walker, Donnie Steele and Donald John Cameron, while Mary Schmoller and Norman MacAskill remain in place.
CEO Darren Taylor began the meeting with a rundown of the previous year’s activities covering topics such as deer management, crofting and local business development, before moving onto questions from the floor. A lively debate ensued, with plans for the new Lochboisdale pier (see right) and for seaweed harvesting (see p7) discussed at length.
The operational review of the previous year showed great success for South Uist Renewable Energy alongside profits from Askernish Golf Course and from fishing on the estate.
Lochboisdale Harbour and Grogarry Lodge both showed losses but Stòras pointed to the considerable investments made in a bid to encourage business growth. Stòras said it hoped that the money spent on the Lodge would allow them to increase room rates from the £80 to a more profitable £150 per night.
Deer numbers have been a hot debate this year so promises of action to bring the herd numbers down and the cull numbers up were welcomed.
The estate said it hoped the recent increase in cull numbers might allow the herd to reach the preferred size of 400 earlier than the initial target date of 2028. Mr Taylor reiterated the estate’s commitment to shoot any marauding beasts west of the road and to have venison on sale locally and made available through the food bank.
Darren Taylor congratulated Askernish Golf Course on their placing on the Golf World magazines Top 100 courses: “Askernish Golf Course brings in more to the wider economy of the estate than anything else Stòras does and it’s not always appreciated enough.”
Stòras said they had worked on many projects focused on returning community assets to use. These include the waiting room at Ludag, the shed at Loch Carnan and the industrial site at Orasaigh, all of which have been grant funded and will soon be seeking interested parties.
The Lochboisdale Strategic Visioning plan was also discussed with a rundown of the work already achieved, such as painting the buildings, building the Marloch memorial and installing EV charging points. Stòras said the Smart Clachan project was still underway and awaiting planning approval.
The board was asked about the potential for the energy generated by the estate to be sold to the community at a reduced rate, with a request to have more energy produced locally. The board was also asked why so much of the income from renewables was held as reserves, rather than spent on community projects. The board referenced the unreliability of the interconnecter on which the renewables project relies, saying that reserves had to be maintained to ensure against lost earnings should that connection fail.
The idea of the estate owning its own flock of sheep was also raised and Mr Taylor said that the possibility had been discussed.
The board was also asked about the potential to have director meetings live streamed to the membership, as previously agreed. Board chair Mary Schmoller said it would be inappropriate to do as sensitive matters were discussed.
Finally, the board was asked why the road end was blocked at Loch Skipport. Mary Schmoller told the members that the road was dangerous and blocks had been placed to deter vehicles. Pressed on the issue, the Chair confirmed no formal review of the risks had been undertaken. A member in the hall claimed the blocks belonged to him and had been taken without permission.
At a meeting of the board the following day Mary Schmoller was re-elected as chair of SnBM.
