Jackie Baillie has told of her deep disappointment in the Scottish Government and Historic Environment Scotland’s lack of effort to mark the 800^th anniversary of Dumbarton becoming a Royal Burgh.

The Dumbarton constituency MSP has sent a letter to Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Angus Robertson MSP to express her frustration that the SNP Government and the agency have snubbed the area on such a historic occasion.

Just weeks after coming into power at West Dunbartonshire Council, the Labour administration announced plans for a programme of events to mark the milestone.

This includes encouraging community participation, asking residents to submit photographs of their favourite places in the town to the council’s local history collection and the production of a video exploring the town’s story through the eyes of its young people.

Earlier this month, Jackie Baillie lodged a motion with the Scottish Parliament congratulating West Dunbartonshire Council on their efforts to mark the anniversary however Angus Robertson, the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution and External Affairs, has disappointingly, confirmed that the Scottish Government and Historic Environment Scotland have no plans to arrange any special events in commemoration.

This has prompted an angry response from the Dumbarton constituency MSP who believes that the occasion should be properly celebrated.

In the correspondence with the Cabinet Secretary she also asked for an update on the planned reopening of Dumbarton Castle which is closed for the foreseeable future due to ongoing maintenance and inspection work. This has continued throughout the summer, costing the area in tourism revenue.

Jackie Baillie said: “The neglect of marking the 800^th anniversary of Dumbarton becoming a Royal Burgh is a slap in the face to local people and is a clear snub by the Scottish Government and Historic Environment Scotland. They have not given the area the respect it deserves and I am extremely disappointed by that. I have made my feelings abundantly clear to the Cabinet Secretary in my correspondence with him regarding this.

“He believes that an event, the Rock of Ages, which takes place year after year, outwith Covid, with the compere mentioning ‘Dumbarton 800’ a handful of times is good enough but I completely disagree.

“I have been in dialogue with the Scottish Government and Historic Environment Scotland since January regarding Dumbarton Castle and have not had a satisfactory response yet. I desperately want to see the jewel in our crown reopen fully to visitors to enjoy learning more about the rich history of the castle.

“It will also hopefully help draw people into our town, spending money in our local shops to help them during this cost of living crisis. Instead of setting out any definitive timeline or pledging to accelerate works, I have been met with disappointing responses lacking any real action.

“It’s high time that this area is given recognition for its historical significance and I will continue to press for the reopening of Dumbarton Castle as soon as possible and for further events to mark the 800^th anniversary of the town becoming a Royal Burgh.”