HC Deb 29 March 1922 vol 152 c1355W
Mr. MACLEAN

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he has had before him a Provisional Order which proposes to deprive the ratepayers of Assynt of their rights in the stone pier at Lochinver, known as Culag Pier; whether this stone pier has belonged to the parishioners, free of charge, for many years; whether 16 years ago the Duke of Sutherland tried to obtain possession of this pier, but as he could not produce a charter for the ground on which it stands nor show that access to the quay was from his ground, the Board of Trade refused him a Provisional Order and confirmed the rights of the people to the stone pier; and whether, in view of this evidence, he will institute a full inquiry into the rights of the parishioners before any such Provisional Order is accepted?

Mr. A. NEAL

I have been asked to reply to this question. An application for a Provisional Order in respect of Culag Pier is now before the Minister of Transport. I understand that a similar application made to the Board of Trade in 1906 by the Duke of Sutherland, the former owner of the estate of Assynt, was withdrawn owing to opposition by the local inhabitants, who disputed the Duke's title to the stone part of the pier. In the circumstances the Board were not called upon to give a decision on the question of ownership. Similar objections have been lodged to the present application, and it is proposed to require the promoter to produce evidence of his title to the pier before the question of making a Provisional Order is decided.

Forward to