Scottish bay to install visitors' buoys

A row over mooring buoys in a Scottish bay has been resolved, paving the way for more visiting yachts in the area.

Local boat owners in Glenuig Bay on the Sound of Arisaig, south of Mallaig, feared eviction after a local hotel applied to The Crown Estate and the Scottish Government to install 10 new moorings in the bay.

The locals have anchored in the bay for many years without permission, but felt they were being forced out by the application, which was made in 2008 by the Glenuig Inn, who are looking to expand into sailing.

However The Crown Estate, who own the seabed, has brokered a deal that will see 10 new commercial moorings put in place by the hotel, while the local yachts and fishing boats can remain in place and access to the jetty and slipway will be retained.

Paul Bancks, The Crown Estate’s Scotland coastal manager, said: ‘This is an excellent example of our day-to-day management and facilitation that goes largely unnoticed, but which plays a vital role in managing the limited marine resource around Scotland’s coast.

‘We are delighted to be able to assist the local community at Glenuig and look forward to working with them in the future as they manage the local moorings resource for the benefit of the whole community.’

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