Agenda and minutes

The Chair, on behalf of the Committee, paid tribute to Councillor Ellen Morton and Provost Len Scoular who had both sadly passed away since the last Area Committee meeting.

Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Councillor Julie McKenzie and Councillor Sir Jamie Mcgrigor.

Councillor Jim Lynch declared a non-financial interest in relation to item 6 – Monitoring of Supporting Communities Fund 2019/20 as he is a board member of the Grab Trust. He remained in the meeting but took no part in the discussion of the item.

Councillor Elaine Robertson declared a non-financial interest in relation to item 6 – Monitoring of Supporting Communities Fund 2019/20 as she is the Chair of Crossroads. She remained in the meeting but took no part in the discussion of the item.

The minutes of the Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee as held on Wednesday 9 September 2020 were approved as a correct record.

Matters Arising

In response to a question from the Chair the Committee Manager confirmed that no applications had been received for John of Lorne Bequest and that he is in contact with stakeholders within Oban and is hopeful that applications will be forthcoming in the New Year.

Councillor Roderick McCuish enquired as to the status of the public conveniences at Ganavan. The Chair confirmed that she had raised this matter with Officers and is continuing to seek a solution.

The minutes of the special meeting of the Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee as held on Wednesday 14 October 2020 were approved as a correct record.

The minutes of the Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Community Planning Group as held on Wednesday 11 November 2020 were noted.

The minutes of the Oban Common Good Fund as held on Friday 4 September 2020 were noted.

The minutes of the Oban Common Good Fund as held on Thursday 12 November 2020 were noted.

The minutes of the Oban Common Good Fund as held on Thursday 26 November 2020 were noted.

In order to facilitate Officer attendance, items were taken out of sequence and discussed in the order as they appear in the minute.

Question from Duncan Martin, Oban Community Council

Mr Martin asked what pressure could the Area Committee put onto council officials to speed up the review of Oban’s Traffic Regulation Order (TRO)? He stated that the revision of the TRO was needed as a matter of urgency and asked if Members were as disappointed as he and the Community Council were around the lack of urgency from Officers as he had been advised by the Head of Roads and Infrastructure that a TRO update report would not come to Area Committee until March 2021.  He suggested that a plan should be designed with local stakeholders input as they were aware of what the issues were.

Response from Committee

The Chair agreed that there was a pressing need for a review of parking in Oban and waiting until the next Area Committee was too late for anything purposeful to be done before summer 2021.

Councillor McCuish suggested that rather than waiting for a report from Officers to then be reviewed by Members and the public that stakeholders and Members get together and suggest solutions for consideration by council officers in the first instance.

The Committee agreed that this could be a useful approach and asked the Committee Manager to explore the practicalities of it.

Question from Ian Stevenson, Gallanach Road Resident

The below question was read out by the Committee Manager;

I would like to ask for an update on an improvement to signage within the metered parking area on Gallanach Road to prevent campervans using the area as an overnight camp site.

If the current TRO does not support the prohibition of campervans then how do we start the process to amend it?

Response from Officers

In the absence of a relevant officer the Committee Manager confirmed that a response to each question from Mr Stevenson would be sent to him and the Area Committee.

Question from Julian Senior, Coll Community Council

Councillor Mary-Jean Devon read out a question on behalf of Mr Julian Senior about a  lack of mains water supply on Coll which had been ongoing for over 10 years leaving residents of over 100 homes out with the village of Arinagour without mains water and asked the Area Committee to write to Scottish Water as a matter of urgency.

Mr Senior added that the main problem was that the lack of mains water was holding back development out with the village due to the variable quality of water as some houses did not pass water quality tests due to the metals present in the local water supply.  He explained that people felt isolated due to the lack of collaboration with agencies to improve the situation and stated that during lockdown people shielding from Covid-19 had to go to a municipal tap to collect water.

Response from Committee

The Committee agreed that the situation was unacceptable in the 21^st century and action needed to be taken.

Councillor Kieron Green said that there were other communities on Lismore and the mainland who had substantial number of properties that were not on mains water and asked that a letter be sent to Scottish Water to encourage a sustained programme of investment to connect all communities to mains water supply.

The Committee agreed to liaise with stakeholders, specifically Coll Community Council and other similar communities within the area, on the subject of water quality and availability. The Committee further agreed that following these discussions that the Chair, on behalf of the Area Committee, would forward a letter to the Scottish Government and Scottish Water highlighting the importance of potable water supply to remote communities.

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Customer Support Services

The Committee considered the Area Scorecard report for Financial Quarter 1 and 2 of 2020-2021 (April-June 2020 and July-September 2020) which illustrated the agreed performance measures.

Decision

The Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee;

1.    noted the performance presented on the Scorecards and supporting commentary;

2.    noted that upon receipt of the quarterly performance reports the Area Committee Members could contact either the Performance Improvement Officer or the responsible named officer with any queries;

3.    agreed to the proposed presentation of Car Park Income;

4.    agreed to the removal of both Primary and Secondary School Inspection measures; and

5.    noted that work was ongoing and to respond to the Performance Improvement Officer with requests or comments regarding the layout and format of the report and scorecard.

(Reference: Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Customer Support Services dated 9 December 2020, submitted)

The Committee agreed that Councillor Roderick McCuish would Chair the below item as Councillor Elaine Roberson had declared an interest in the item.

Report by Chief Executive

The Committee gave consideration to a report which provided monitoring information on the funds distributed to community organisations through the Council’s Supporting Communities Fund 2019/20.

Decision

The Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee;

1.    noted the positive contribution of the grants to the community projects as detailed in paragraph 4.1 and the appendixed table to the report; and

2.    agreed that the unspent funds of £3,234 in paragraph 4.4 of the report be carried forward for inclusion in funds available for dispersal in 2021/22.

(Reference: Report by Chief Executive dated 2 November 2020, submitted)

Presentation by Chief Executive, Argyll Community Housing Association

The Committee gave consideration to an annual update presentation for the Oban, Lorn and the Isles area by the Chief Executive of the Argyll Community Housing Association (ACHA).

In addition to the submitted presentation, the Committee noted that additional funding of £2.3 million had been secured from Westminster to add to the Warm Homes Fund project for homes hard to heat with work expected to start in March/April 2021; that ACHA was working with NHS Highland by providing office infrastructure for assisting with Covid-19 vaccinations for the elderly; and that there are funds available in the  Community Action Fund with community groups encouraged to submit applications by early February 2021.

Discussion focused on how in relation to winter maintenance, Officers from ACHA and the council work well together and that an economic impact assessment had been suggested to the ACHA board in relation to workers in the area.

Decision

The Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee;

1.    noted the contents of the presentation; and

2.    commended the work being done by officers at ACHA, particularly in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

(Reference: Presentation by Chief Executive of the Argyll Community Housing Association dated 9 December 2020, submitted)

Report by Head of Strategic Planning and Performance, Health and Social Care Partnership

The Committee gave consideration to a report which presented annual performance data of the Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership for 2019/20.

Members noted that due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the service and supporting services the report was unable to be produced in its customary format and content and as such was a summary report, as enabled by legislation.

Decision

The Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee;

1.    noted and considered the Health and Social Care Partnership Annual Performance Report for 2019/20; and

2.    commended the work being done by all Health and Social Care Partnership staff, particularly in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

(Reference: Report by Head of Strategic Planning and Performance dated 19 November 2020, submitted)

Report by Head Teacher, Tobermory High School

The Acting Head Teacher of Tobermory High School took the committee through a progress update report on the school’s achievements for the 2020 session.

Decision

The Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee;

1.            noted the contents of the report; and

2.            commended the work being done by the school, particularly in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

(Reference: Report by Acting Head Teacher, Tobermory High School, dated 9 December 2020, submitted)

Report by Executive Director with responsibilities for Legal and Regulatory Support

The Committee gave consideration to a report which invited them to nominate an Elected Member to be the Council’s second representative on the Oban and Lorn Community Enterprise Board (Atlantis Leisure).

Decision

The Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee agreed not to appoint a second representative on the Oban and Lorn Community Enterprise Board (Atlantis Leisure) this time.

(Reference: Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support dated 10 March 2020, submitted)

Report by Executive Director with responsibilities for Roads and Infrastructure Services

The Committee gave consideration to a report which provided an update on work being progressed by Oban Community Harbour Development Association (OCHDA) towards

establishing a trust port at Oban Bay.

Decision

The Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee noted and considered the report.

(Reference: Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure dated November 2020, submitted)

The Draft Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee Workplan, as of December 2020, was submitted to the Committee for noting.

Decision

The Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee agreed to note the Workplan.

(Reference: Draft Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee Workplan, dated 9 December 2020, submitted)