Harris team put St Kilda bid online

The furious row between island communities on the siting of the St Kilda visitor centre has been taken online.

Jura Consualtants, which has been hired to oversee the project for a selection panel, choose Mangersta in Uig as the best location after assessing three bids.

However the Harris team has launched a website  giving details about how the criteria was altered during the course of the consultants’ assessment.

By logging on to: www.st.kilda.info those interested in the process can investigate that criteria which would normally bolster the Harris bid, such as  the St Kilda historical archive at Seallam and the fact that Tarbert is the main port of departure for trips to the Dual World Heritage site and excellent transport links with the rest of the island have been omitted.

Whilst the controversial criteria of ‘journey experience’ to St Kilda has been introduced.

The Harris team states: “As a community we are furious about the outrageous amendments to the original criteria which is almost unrecognisable to that which was actually scored by the consultants.

“We as a community are also highly suspicious regarding the consultants refusal to show transparency in their decision making process as well as their failure to explain the reasoning behind their blatant change of criteria.”

It is this lack of transparency and change of criteria that is leading some to think the decision to choose Mangersta, Uig was a ‘done deal’.  There have also been questions over why expensive consultants was needed in the first place to make this assessment.