News

Pupils from Gigha Primary School are preparing to host a creative arts festival for children on the island next year as part of innovative approach to promote positive health and wellbeing through creative activities. The project has been awarded £13,500 following a competitive application process to Education Scotland’s Creative Wellbeing Fund and will see Gigha pupils joining forces with children from Clachan, Achahoish, Rhunahaorine and Glenbarr primaries, to work in partnership with specialist artists and performers in the run up to the main event.

Pupils and staff from Dunoon Grammar School took to the global stage once again this week when they made a passionate contribution to a high-profile COP26 event. Hosted by Accenture and T4 Education, the organisers of World Education Week, the school were invited to showcase their innovative approaches to Climate Education to a world-wide online audience which included leaders from the business, education and policy sectors.

Argyll and Bute is set to benefit from over £2 million of UK Community Renewal Funding. Part of the UK Government’s Levelling Up Agenda, funding will stimulate growth in the area and help deliver community projects.   Argyll and Bute Council submitted the bids to the UK Government on behalf of organisations and council services who are investing in skills, place making, the community and supporting people into employment. The award of £2 million is one the largest in Scotland and came from a total allocation of £18.4 million.  

Shoppers across Argyll and Bute can help boost the local economy by backing a groundbreaking local gift card scheme. Argyll and Bute local gift cards are now available to buy, giving people another way to spend local and help support businesses in their communities. With a range of businesses to choose from including restaurants, hotels and gift shops, bike hire, local attractions and toy shops, the cards makes the perfect Christmas present.

Are you a business owner looking to undertake repairs to your shopfront? The Shopfront Improvement Grant is helping to transform businesses across Argyll and Bute, attracting more people and investment to the area. The Shopfront Improvement Grant is now available to smaller settlements and rural retail businesses. Grants can help with painting, joinery and masonry work.   Using Scottish Government Place Based Investment Funding, the grant aims to support place policy ambitions such as town centre revitalisation.

Have you ever wanted to have a go on an electric bike? Fancy taking a stroll around an outdoor market full of sustainable suppliers? Maybe you’d like to find out how you can make your home more energy efficient? These are just a few of the things that will be on offer at Argyll and Bute Council’s family-friendly climate change event at the Helensburgh and Lomond Civic Centre between 12noon and 4pm this Saturday (6 November).

There are just a few days left for Campbeltown residents to apply for a £25 voucher for individuals and a £50 voucher for families (households of more than one person) from the town’s GM Duncan Bequest/Andrew Greenless Trust. When Major George Melville Duncan died in 1958, he bequeathed money to the then Campbeltown Town Council for the ‘benefit of the poor of the Burgh in the form of gifts, of fuel, clothing and foodstuffs during the winter months’. When Andrew Greenlees died, he also set up a trust to help.

Argyll and Bute Council is holding a by-election to elect one councillor in Ward 9, Lomond North, on Thursday 16 December. The Lomond North Ward includes the areas surrounding Helensburgh, from Luss to Rosneath, and has an electorate of just over 6,000 people.

Argyll and Bute Council’s education and property services teams have been shortlisted for two national Learning Places Scotland Awards for their work in delivering 1140 hours of Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) to all three and four year olds, and eligible two year olds, in the area.

The UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) is being held in Glasgow from 31 October until 12 November and, as a result, a number of roads in the city centre will be closed during this time. Alternative routes will be in place but, with travel disruptions likely, motorists are being urged to plan their journeys in advance and travel out with peak times. If you live in or near Glasgow, or intend to travel to the city during this time, please consider if your journey is essential before setting off.