Music centre crisis talks

TALKS began yesterday to try and save a national traditional music school which has 15 months to safeguard its future.

The centre of excellence, based at Plockton High School in Wester Ross, was put in doubt this month when Highland Council decided to withdraw its 317,000 annual funding from July 2012 to save money.

But the authority's administration said it wanted to secure the long-term future of the centre, which opened in 2000.

Yesterday a council delegation met the school's rector Duncan Ferguson, and centre director Dougie Pincock.

Council leader Michael Foxley said later: "We had a very useful meeting at which we considered ways of making the operation more efficient in terms of costs.

"We need to identify alternative sources of funding to keep this important centre open beyond the summer of next year."