Councillor blasts second stone blunder

A West Mainland councillor has expressed frustration at what he describes as the “bureaucratic monster” of Orkney Islands Council (OIC), following news that £20,000 worth of sandstone was purchased for a project — ten months before it was refused.

OIC this week confirmed that the contract for the sandstone — for a proposed development at St Magnus Cathedral — had been accepted in May, 2020.

This was six months before the project’s application was received in November 2020, and ten months before the project was refused by councillors at a meeting of OIC’s planning committee on Wednesday, March 3.

The project aimed to improve existing disabled access, through a development to the steps outside St Magnus Cathedral.

OIC confirmed that at the time the plans were drawn up, it was considered a “low risk” by the team developing the project that listed building consent would be refused.

Councillor Owen Tierney said it “makes no sense” that this occurred and that the contract should not have gone out until they were certain the development would gain approval and go ahead.

Full story in this week’s The Orcadian