News

Argyll and Bute Council would like to apologise to anyone affected by delays to bin collections in Helensburgh and Lomond over the last few weeks. These delays have been caused by a variety of issues, and our teams are working hard to catch up on missed collections. The backlog is expected to be cleared by Friday 11 March and for normal service to resume on Monday 14 March.

The council is carrying out a full investigating into how items including Gaelic books were in a skip. We apologise for any distress or upset caused and are taking the matter very seriously. Making the best possible use of the resources we have is always a priority.

Louise Morrison was a pupil at Dunoon Grammar School, when an opportunity arose for her to do a foundation apprenticeship at Clyde Cottage Nursery. Fast forward two years and she is now doing a Modern Apprenticeship, working with the nursery full time.

Works to create a new public square in the heart of Ardrishaig is due to start later this year. The square is a long held community aspiration and part of a wider transformation project that will see improved seating, access and redesigned car parking and gardens. Argyll and Bute Council is investing £700,000 to help transform the area into a vibrant village centre with improved community and visitor facilities.  The work includes:

Argyll and Bute’s future scientists, engineers and IT gurus are a step closer to making their career ambitions a reality with the announcement of plans to create a special STEM Hub in Dunoon.   The Council has appointed architects Anderson, Bell and Christie to lead the transformation of the former Hill Street office in Dunoon.  

The £1.5 million transformation of Lochgilphead’s Front Green is progressing well and nearing the planned completion date. Argyll and Bute Council is delivering the long held community aspiration of a new public square to hold events in. The works also include a new play park, additional seating, drainage and landscaping to help ease the impact of flooding and new walking and cycling facilities.

A former Oban High School pupil’s career is off to a flying start after taking up the position of a modern apprentice at Oban Airport. Cameron Allen, aged 20, first visited the airport for work experience eight years ago while he was still attending school and loved it. Unfortunately, for Cameron, there were no job vacancies at the time so he went on to study computer science at the University of the Highlands and Islands.

Work is progressing well to set up a Harbour Authority that would manage key parts of Oban Bay. Argyll and Bute Council has received backing overall from stakeholders CMAL (Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited) and Oban Bay Management Group for taking on the role of Statutory Harbour Authority (SHA), and is progressing action to meet legal requirements to do this. Setting up a SHA follows findings of an independent report into options for putting formal management arrangements in place for the unmanaged section of Oban Bay.  

Argyll and Bute Council’s Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee has endorsed an £8m roads improvement programme for the area. This sum includes an additional £2.6 million, approved at last month’s budget meeting. Allocations for the 2022-23 roads reconstruction programme are as follows: Area Spend for 2022-23

Argyll and Bute Council is on track to achieve a national good practice standard for its ports and harbours that few others in the UK have secured. The Port Marine Safety Code (PMSC) sets out a national safety standard covering different aspects of running ports and harbours. The current list of 230+ ports, published by The Department for Transport as complying with the Code, represents around 14% of UK ports and 30% of Statutory Harbour Authorities.