Tiree teenagers set to take on the world’s best surfers despite their vital beach hut facing wipe out

TWO Scots teenagers are preparing to do battle with the world’s best surfers – despite a long-running fight to save their vital beach hut.

Finn MacDonald, 16, and 12-year-old Ben Larg will represent Scotland in the World Junior Surfing Championships in Japan in September after clinching national titles last year.

In their native Tiree, the popularity of surfing has exploded with more than 40 youngsters now involved, around 40% of the island’s school-aged population.

With its pristine white beaches, sparkling water and big waves, it’s easy to why locals have dubbed the island “the Hawaii of the north”.

Ben took up the sport at the age of four and, having not even reached his teenage years, he’s already beating surfers much older than him and eyeing up world championship gold in the future.

“I just love being in the water – it’s hard to describe,” he said.

“All I want to do is keep surfing and hopefully I’ll win a world title some day.”

The popularity of surfing has been on the rise across Scotland for several years.

But not everyone is a fan. As Ben and Finn prepare to take on the world’s best, their local surfing community is fighting its own battle with Argyll & Bute Council.

Surfers on the island have been using a hut on Balevullin Beach as a first-aid post and changing room.

The hut was built in 2015 but failed to get retrospective planning permission in February this year. Councillors were split 3-3 on whether it should remain because of concerns that it spoils the natural beauty of the beach.

An appeal is currently working its way through the Scottish Government’s system and Ben’s parents, Marti and Iona Larg, who run the island’s surf club, are hopeful the decision will be overturned.

Marti said: “The development of surfing here has been absolutely magic.

“We have the biggest club in Scotland and two juniors competing on the world stage and that’s encouraging more to get involved.

“There isn’t much in the way of facilities here, so this is great for kids to take up and be active. If the hut goes, it’d be a disaster for the club. We’d need to operate out of trailers.”

The four-metre by three-metre hut was the second beach one put up by the Largs, the other in the island’s Gott Bay stood for years and informal support from Argyll Estates and a council planning officer convinced Marti to go ahead with building the second one.

But it caused a furore among some locals and although the retrospective planning application attracted 115 letters of support, including from MSPs Mike Russell and Donald Cameron, the 43 objections helped swing the vote.

Marti added: “We’re expecting the decision soon. The council has said before it wants to do whatever it can to support families to remain living in the islands because the economy is so fragile.

“We just hope they follow through with that.”

Argyll and Bute councillor David Kinniburgh, who voted against allowing the hut, said: “They were trying to argue there was a locational need for it but I felt there wasn’t. There are other businesses in Tiree running similar ventures and have done it successfully from the back of vans.”