By Greigg Adams
The latest salvo by protestors against the interior changes to Stornoway Town Hall was staged on Saturday afternoon when around 70 turned up to campaign outside the iconic building.
A broad age range from young children to senior citizens turned up to voice their protest against the proposed changes by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar which will see the balcony and stage areas ripped out and replaced.
The issue had been given centre stage earlier in the week in the Council chamber when the vociferous community protest, which has attracted 1,300 members to a Facebook petition was discussed; 200 formal objections to the planning application for the work on the B listed building have also been lodged.
Councillors were challenged to meet with the protestors to discuss the concerns about the plans however a meeting is still to be arranged.
Yet that did not deter the campaigners on Saturday who appeared to be in good mood and were displaying placards, playing music and singing to promote the issue to the wider community.
Plans for the building have been in the public domain for the last two years and recently the first phase of the regeneration of the Town Hall was completed when scaffolding was taken down from the building’s façade to reveal restoration work.
However protestors claim that although the plans had been known for sometime many people had been unaware of just what they would mean and had been ‘in the dark’ that favoured architectural characteristics would be destroyed.
Planning permission for the work is expected to be debated by the council in February.
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