Dave Thompson MSP

HIS boat has only just been unearthed but already an historic resident of Ardnamurchan has done a fantastic job of raising the international profile of the area.

Over the past month, newspapers, broadcasters and websites all over the world have featured news of the discovery of the only intact Viking boat burial to be found on mainland UK.

Like all international figures, the media has given a snappy title to the occupant of the boat burial and now the entire world is aware of The Ardnamurchan Viking. We need look only to Loch Ness to see the huge boost a world-famous resident can bring to the tourist industry. That is why I immediately made a call at the Scottish Parliament for these important finds to be returned to the community where they were found, once academics have finished with them.

I was delighted that among the first to offer their support for such a move were Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, and Helena Gray of CFA Archaeology, the team which excavated the burial. Both were instinctively behind my suggestion and were able to offer guidance about how such a move may be achieved. So it looks like the first step would be identifying premises suitable for such internationally-important artefacts, offering the security and environmental controls needed to ensure they are able to survive for another millennium.

I am sure the team behind the Ardnamurchan Transitions Project could not have dreamed that their efforts would result in such a significant discovery but I think all will agree they have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams and are due all the congratulations they have received.

The return of the Ardnamurchan Viking to the area would allow other tourism operators in the area to benefit and it is vital that all businesses in an area such as Ardnamurchan work together for the benefit of all.

The benefit of such an approach was clear to see recently when I spent a day on Kingairloch Estate with owner Kurt Larson and was hugely impressed by the way the various businesses on the estate support each other to improve economic activity and provide local jobs.

The Boathouse Restaurant attracts business by sea and road and custom is also provided by many of the residents of the 16 properties renovated at Kingairloch to provide holiday accommodation.

Elsewhere on the estate is the walled garden, which provides vegetables for the restaurant and wider community, while the estate’s deer management provides the venison for which the restaurant is known and this is butchered on site. In addition to the stalking holidays run at Kingairloch, the estate is now marketed as a wedding venue.

On top of all this, Kingairloch manages a hydro scheme for Scottish and Southern Energy, providing electricity for the estate, local residents and the National Grid. One of the topics Kurt and Drew Macfarlane-Slack, Highland manager of Scottish Land and Estates, were keen to impress upon me was that the development of smaller energy developments, such as the five “run of the river” hydro power plants planned by Kingairloch, was being hampered by the requirement for developers to satisfy a regulatory regime designed for larger scale electricity generation which unduly hinders small schemes.

This is something I plan to discuss with SNP colleagues on my return to Holyrood because, as renewable generation becomes an increasingly important factor in Scotland’s energy mix, it is vital that smaller community schemes are not dissuaded from entering this market.

Another local issue I am keeping an eye on is the continued provision of adequate medical care for Ardnamurchan and other similarly rural communities. This is still a very important issue and I am watching to ensure that whatever solution is proposed is one that maintains a safe service, especially in emergencies and out of normal hours.