Time to give island to the islanders

Published on Thursday 2 July 2009 20:51

I can't agree with Lesley Riddoch's argument that a withdrawal of the military from the Hebrides range should be welcomed (Opinion, 29 June). One flaw is that none of the people who work there is military, they are civilians, and most of them local civilians at that.

But she makes several valid points on the proposal to remove all of the range personnel from St Kilda. Has the Ministry of Defence and its agent, QinetiQ, which operates the facility, given proper consideration to decommissioning the site there? According to a recent statement from the local authority their costings are well short of the mark and many questions remain unanswered. What do they intend to do about future power generation for the island group? Diesel generators won't keep running without regular maintenance, buildings won't remain standing on St Kilda without someone there to look after them. And how is security really going to be maintained, not just for the missile range, but for the wildlife and bird life on the islands?

One of the problems is that the debate about St Kilda's future is not in the public domain. A local task force has been set up to try to ameliorate the effects of the proposed withdrawal of personnel and services from the Hebrides range, but they meet in closed session. We're told the National Trust is dealing with the issues on St Kilda. Is this organisation not also currently in the business of closing properties down and making staff redundant?

Given all these considerations I cannot help but agree wholeheartedly with Lesley Riddoch's conclusion. St Kilda should be properly decommissioned by the MoD and returned to the ownership and management of the people to whom it properly belongs – the communities of the Outer Hebrides.

EDDIE STIVEN

Glenelg

Ross-shire