Venue: ON A HYBRID BASIS ON MICROSOFT TEAMS AND IN THE MCCAIG SUITE, CORRAN HALLS, OBAN
Contact: Melissa Stewart, Governance Officer - 01546 604331 Karen Campbell, Senior Committee Assistant - 01631 567855
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APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Minutes: There were no apologies received. Councillor Lynch intimated that he would have to leave the meeting at 11.30am as he had a prior engagement. |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Minutes: There were no declarations of interest intimated. |
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MINUTES |
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Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee - 13 December 2023 PDF 150 KB Minutes: The
Minute of the meeting of the Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee, held on 13
December 2023 was approved as a correct record. |
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Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Community Planning Group - 7 February 2024 PDF 153 KB Minutes: The
Minute of the meeting of the Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Community Planning
Group held on 7 February 2024 was noted. |
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Special Meeting of Oban Common Good Fund - 12 December 2023 PDF 95 KB Minutes: The
minute of the Special Meeting of Oban Common Good Fund meeting held on 13
December 2023 was noted. |
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PUBLIC QUESTION TIME Minutes: Question 1 – Frank Roberts, Oban Community Council The appalling storm and
associated heavy rainfall that we experienced on October 7th last year resulted
in a number of very serious consequences, and the Council officers and their
staff are to be congratulated on the rapid response to many of these. One consequence of the storm was
the inevitable flooding in Oban at Lochavullin, and
the seriousness and financial consequences of this to local business was raised
by Andrew Spence of BID4Oban and others at the last meeting of this committee. We all know that such flooding is
a continuing problem, has been for many years, and that a permanent solution
will be dependent on securing significant funds, most probably from Government.
The recent meeting of the Oban Community Council was attended by Mr
Lachie Strathern. Mr Strathern has a garage business in the area, and is
regularly faced with the problem caused by flooding, and in particular of back
washing of raw sewage into his premises. You will all agree that this
constitutes an immediate and serious health risk for him and his staff, but
also will inevitably result in raw sewage contamination of the relatively
enclosed waters of the bay in the town centre. Mr Strathern’s property is leased from the Council. He was told in
August last year that there are no plans of the sewage drains in the area of
his garage, but that the Council would arrange for them to be surveyed, to
enable remedial action to be taken. This has still not happened despite several
requests by him. This should be perfectly within the resources of the Council.
Can I ask, therefore: 1. When will Mr Strathern’s
immediate and potentially extremely hazardous to health problem of sewage
pollution of his premises be addressed, and will the Council commit to a
definite date by which the drains will be surveyed and remedial action be
taken? 2. Does the Council have a plan
of how it intends to address the overall flooding problem, including short term
remedial measures that can be immediately undertaken, such as clearing or
dredging the Black Lynn and ensuring the efficient operation of the pumps in
the car park, and will it publish that plan with target dates by which it will
achieve each step? 3. Will the Area Committee ask
that a brief report on progress made be submitted at its next and each
subsequent meeting, so that such progress, or lack thereof, can be monitored? Mr Roberts added that at the last Area Committee it had been agreed that
Mr O’Neill and Mr Spence would take the matter off table for a detailed
response which he did not agree with as he felt the community should be kept
informed of current and ongoing information. The Chair responded by firstly pointing out that the Council’s response
to the recent storms was remarkable and they had managed to get some funding
back from the Scottish Government to support their response. However, the issue of flooding was first
raised in 1973, then the Government changed in 1974 and ever since money and
resources have been in decline. There
are serious issues in our infrastructure and the Roads Department Budget is
£100m behind the curve. This is not an
excuse but a fact. The Governance Officer gave advice surrounding the Guidance of Community
Councils acting on a person’s behalf, advising that the tenant would be best
placed to put his concerns regarding lack of response through the Council’s
complaints process. A complaint requires
to be lodged by an individual member of the public. Mr Strathern, tenant of property at Lochavullin
advised that following the last flooding raw sewage was not backing up into his
property and was affecting not only him but his 7 members of staff. He stated that the responsibility falls
solely with the Council as it is an environmental health issue. Mr Murphy from the Council’s Roads and Infrastructure advised that the
Head of Service was compiling a report around flooding and he stated he would
speak to his colleagues in the Environmental Health department with regards to
the raw sewage backup as a priority. Councillor Lynch asked if the report would come to this Committee. Mr Murphy confirmed that it would. Councillor Vennard responded to Mr Robert’s comment about the discussion
on flooding being taken off table, commenting that the discussion off line, not
that there wouldn’t be any follow up. Mr Allan, of the Estates Department advised that his department has the
responsibility for the tenancies at Lochavullin,
stating that there was a mix of tenants and private owners, therefore there
lack of records who has done what to each property when it comes to
drainage. A survey has been requested. The Chair suggested that the two issues were split with the sewage
situation being prioritised. Mr Strathern made a suggestion as to how to trace the source of the
sewerage pollution by using dye and asked if this was feasible? Mr Murphy and Mr Allan were invited to look
into this. Councillor Vennard and Councillor McKenzie made the point that it would
be appropriate to have raised these issues with a ward councillor. Councillor Hampsey offered to take the matter
forward and invited Mr Strathern to make contact with her. Phil Hamerton asked if there was a plan for the long term. The chair advised that it was acknowledged
that there were areas which needed addressed and there was a list of actions to
alleviate although a more detailed plan would be difficult due to lack of
resources. Mr Strathern, asked Mr Murphy if the pumping stations at Lochavullin were operational and if there was any plans to
dredge the Black Lynn? Mr Murphy stated that as far as he was aware they were working. Mr Strathern advised that the electrical box for the pumps was under water at the last flood – Mr Murphy said he would double check with the local officers that the pumps ... view the full minutes text for item 4. |
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AREA Performance Report - FQ3 2023/34 PDF 138 KB Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Customer Support Services Additional documents: Minutes: Consideration
was given to the Area Performance Report for financial quarter 3 of 2023/24
(September to December 2023) which illustrated the agreed performance measures
for this period. Decision The
Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee: 1. noted and considered the performance and supporting
commentary as presented; 2. noted that upon receipt of the Quarterly
Performance Report the Area Committee should contact either the Responsible
Named Officer or Sonya Thomas with any queries; and 3. noted that work was ongoing and to respond to Sonya
Thomas with requests or comments regarding the layout and format of the
Performance Report and Scorecard. (Reference:
Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Customer Support Services,
dated 6 March 2024, submitted) Councillor Lynch left the meeting at this point. |
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Primary School Area Attainment Report - Oban, Lorn and the Isles PDF 1 MB Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Education Minutes: The Committee gave consideration to a
report and presentation given by Ms White, Head Teacher of Strath of Appin
Primary School and Mr Gawthorpe, Head Teacher for Bunessan Primary which provided
a range of key information about primary school provision in the Oban, Lorn and
the Isles area during the school session August 2023 to June 2024 and reported
the National collection of attainment and achievement data from June 2023. Decision The Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area
Committee considered and noted the contents of the report. (Reference: Report by Executive
Director with responsibility for Education dated March 2024, submitted) |
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ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATE PDF 91 KB Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure Services Minutes: The
Committee gave consideration to a report which provided links to the recent
activities of Roads and Infrastructure Services relevant to the Oban, Lorn and
the Isles Area. Decision The
Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee considered and noted the contents of
the report. (Reference: Report by Executive Director with
responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure Services, dated 6 March 2024,
submitted) |
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ROADS CAPITAL RECONSTRUCTION PROGRAMME PDF 251 KB Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure Services Minutes: The Committee gave consideration
to a report which included a draft programme for roads reconstruction schemes
for 2024/25 in the Oban, Lorn and the Isles area. Decision The Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area
Committee:-
(Reference: Report by Executive
Director with responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure Services, dated
February 2024, submitted) |
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Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth Minutes: Consideration
was given to a report which provided an update on Housing Services activity and
the delivery of the Local Housing Strategy within the Oban, Lorn and the Isles
Area. Decision The
Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee considered and noted the content of the
report. (Reference: Report by Executive Director with
responsibility for Development and Economic Growth, dated March 2024,
submitted) |
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Active Travel Progress Report 2023-24 PDF 163 KB Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth Minutes: The Committee gave consideration
to a report which provided an update on the progress made in 2023/24 in
relation to active travel projects in the Oban, Lorn and the Isles area, and
sought continued support for the projects from Members. Decision The Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area
Committee agreed to:- 1.
welcomed the progress made
to date across a significant number of active travel projects by the small
Active Travel Team. 2.
supported the continuation
of the projects and the submission of future funding applications to external
challenge funds (while these still exist) to continue to develop design and
construction stages in order to deliver these projects. 3.
supported the allocation of
the active travel funding element in the Council’s 24/25 block grant to the
development and delivery of appropriate active travel projects, including those
already underway in OLI. 4.
instructed Officers to
continue to identify and develop new active travel projects to benefit local
residents, businesses and communities. (Reference: report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth, submitted) |
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Supporting Communities Fund - 2022-23 Project Monitoring Report PDF 268 KB Report by Chief Executive Minutes: The Committee gave consideration
to a report which highlighted the positive outcomes of the Council’s Supporting
Communities Fund in 2022/23 for communities in the Oban, Lorn and the Isles
area. Decision The Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area
Committee: 1.
noted and considered the positive contribution of the Supporting
Communities Fund detailed in section 4 and the attached table. 2.
noted that a total of £2,617.50 in
total has been returned, and agree that
this be included in the distribution of the SCF for 2024/25. (Reference: Report by Chief
Executive’s Unit, dated 6 March 2024, submitted) |
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Presentation by Coroporate Support Manager, Argyll and Bute Council Additional documents: Minutes: Consideration was given to a
presentation which provided information in relation to the progress of the
Council’s Area Plans project. Decision The
Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee considered and noted the information
provided. (Reference: Presentation by Chief Executive’s Unit, dated
6 March 2024, submitted) |
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Charitable Trusts, Bequests and Trust Funds |
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Distribution Arrangements PDF 166 KB Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee gave consideration
to a report which invited Members to consider distribution arrangements for four
of the Charitable Trusts, Bequests and Trust Funds for which the Members act as
Trustees. Decision The
Oban Lorn and the Isles Area Committee: 1.
agreed the proposals for distribution
arrangements for the MacKinnon Ledigham Bequest,
Archibald Dow Bequest and Coals for the Poor Oban, outlined within this report, 2.
agreed
that a review of the updated distribution arrangements for the aforementioned
funds be undertaken and reported to the Area Committee following the first 12
months of operation; and 3. agreed
that the unrestricted
funds held within the Kilmore and Kilbride Bequest be made available, in their
totality, immediately
and that a moratorium be placed on this fund thereafter (Reference: Report by Executive
Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support, dated 6 March 2024,
submitted) |
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John of Lorn Bequest Award Recommendations PDF 131 KB Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support Minutes: The
Area Committee gave consideration to a report providing information on a number
of applications received and processed for support from the John of Lorn
Bequest. Decision The
Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee noted the number of awards made from
the John of Lorn Bequest since the last meeting of the Area Committee in December
2023. (Reference: Report by Executive Director with
responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support dated 6 March 2024, submitted) |
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COMMUNITY SPORTS HUB, OBAN LORNE RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB, GLENCRUITTEN DRIVE, OBAN PDF 1 MB Minutes: The
Committee considered a report on the significant progress in negotiations with
Oban Lorn Rugby Football Club (OLRFC) following the reports to DMT of 10th
May 2023, ELT of 23rd May 2023 and DMT of 6th November 2023
setting out their Expression of Interest in extending their current lease and
substantially redeveloping the clubhouse building and adjoining sports grounds
for both club and community use. Decision The Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee:- 1. Noted the significant
investment planned by OLRFC in improving this asset for the community along
with the potential income and capital receipt to the Council provisionally
agreed in Heads of Terms to enable OLRFC’s formal funding process to begin and
the project to move forward. 2. Noted that the project is of
a significant scale and if the Club meet all their obligations, it is intended
that this will result in the sale of a large area of recreational ground to the
Club, reducing the Council’s control of the area. (Reference: Report by Executive Director with
responsibility for Commercial Services, submitted) |
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DRAFT OBAN, LORN AND THE ISLES AREA COMMITTEE WORKPLAN PDF 135 KB Minutes: The Committee gave consideration
to the Area Committee workplan for future meetings. Decision The Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area
Committee considered and noted the contents of the workplan. (Reference: Area Committee Workplan, dated 6 March 2024,
submitted) |
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E1 Paragraph
6 Information relating
to the financial or business affairs of any
particular person (other than the authority). |