Report by Head of Governance and Law
Minutes:
The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions
were made. He then outlined the
procedure that would be followed and invited the Head of Governance and Law to
identify those who wished to speak.
The Committee were advised that one of the supporters, Mr Campbell Cameron, had submitted his representation over the weekend by email. They were asked to consider whether or not they wished to admit this late representation into the process. The Committee agreed to admit Mr Cameron’s late representation into the process and allow him to speak at the hearing.
APPLICANT
Neil MacKay spoke on behalf of the All Under One Banner (AUOB) Group. He advised that the Group had submitted notification some time ago of their intention to march and he confirmed that this is what they would be doing. He said that they believed totally in the interests of not just the people in Oban, but all Scottish citizens that this march should go ahead.
He confirmed that he was aware of objections submitted and that the key concern was disruption to traffic. He pointed out that it had previously been estimated that 2,500 people would attend and that they would like to lower that figure to 1,700 in accordance with information they have received on social media. He explained how they had arrived at that figure using a formula which was tried and tested. Based on responses received (879 going and 2,200 interested) they expected that two thirds of those identified as going would attend and that half of those interested in attending would attend, which brought the total to approximately 1,700 people. He advised that he believed this reduction would be in the capacity of the various infrastructures in Oban. He said that this would greatly reduce the estimates of any disruption.
He pointed out that the duty of care lay with Police Scotland and the local authority to ensure that appropriate measures were taken and appropriate policing responses were taken to ensure that the general public were notified that this march would take place. He added that if people were given enough advanced warning this would allow them to either avoid the town altogether on that day or reschedule the time they planned to travel to the town. He advised that the various authorities had a duty of care to citizens to take appropriate traffic calming measures, including employing appropriate police resources.
He referred to concerns expressed that the march could cause traffic queues to extend into the national speed limit zone and advised that it was the various authorities’ responsibility to make sure appropriate signage was in place.
He referred to concerns about emergency vehicles being unable to pass through the march and he confirmed that they had a very experienced steward team and first aid team and that there would be no problem with an emergency vehicle being prevented from passing through the march. He referred to a recent march in Glasgow which was attended up to 100,000 people and that they had no issues with that. He confirmed that their emergency team would be able to manage the crowd and attendees and that there would be no risk at all, no damage to public property and no risk to the local community. He advised that no negative impact was anticipated at all. He suggested that the financial injection into the local economy would be greatly welcomed by local businesses.
He then referred to concerns about the car park and fees. He stated that the Group would not be paying the fees and that was a fact. He pointed out that fees have been waived for other organisations in the past so they should also be waived for this Group.
He said that this would be a very positive event for Oban and the local community and that it was in the best interests of the Scottish people which, he said he imagined the committee would support.
Fiona Cameron confirmed that she supported everything that Mr MacKay had said. She confirmed that she had been one of the organisers of the march held in Inverness last year and that she supported what had been said about the social media side of things.
QUESTIONS FROM
CONSULTEES
Hugh O’Neill, the Council’s Network and Standards Manager, asked Mr MacKay how many coaches they expected to come. Mr MacKay confirmed that the AUOB Group would be bringing one coach from Glasgow and that, including their own coach, he expected between 6 – 10 coaches altogether. He said that they had sold 27 tickets for their bus. Mr O’Neill asked how all the other people would come if not by coach. Mr MacKay suggested they could travel by car, train and boat and that some people may cycle or walk.
QUESTIONS FROM REPRESENTEES
Councillor Kieron Green referred to an article published in a national newspaper promoting the organising committee for this event. He said that in that article the organisers expected tens of thousands of people on the day. He asked Mr MacKay which was correct, 1,700 people or tens of thousands. Mr MacKay advised that he was not aware of the article Councillor Green was referring to. He said that representations to the press could have been made from a whole range of people. He confirmed that what he was telling the Committee today was correct – that they expected 1,700 to attend. Mrs Cameron advised that this event would be held two weeks after the Galashiels march and she suggested that people attending that march may not come to this march so this could lead to the numbers attending being less.
CONSULTEES
Roads
Hugh O’Neill confirmed that from a local authority point of view there was a need to balance the rights of individuals participating and also the rights of the local community not to be inconvenienced. He said that bringing 1,700 into the small town of Oban would have a significant effect on traffic and the local community. Looking at 6 – 10 coaches, there would be a need to stagger them coming into the town. He referred to the use by the Group of the Corran Halls 1 and 2 car parks which had parking for 110 cars. He advised that there would be a need to close these car parks to the general public from 9 am to ensure they were empty in time for the start of the march. He confirmed that they would be looking to charge the Group for using these car parks for 6 hours which would equate to £660 rather than the original estimate of £990 which, he said, would be fair. He said that if 1,700 people turned up to march and if they were 4 abreast then the procession could be up to 400 metres in length. He referred to the code of conduct for public processions and said that the march would be in breach of section 8 – no cause for complaint shall be given and section 9 – no obstruction shall be caused. He advised that they would get complaints and that road junctions would be obstructed. He advised of the Mull ferry coming in at 2.30 pm and the possibility of a cruise ship also visiting that day which could lead to a significant amount of people being in the town that day.
Police Scotland
The Local Area Inspector, Mark Stephen advised that the Police Scotland observations detailed at appendix 3 of the report remained the same. He referred to the Code of Conduct for Public Processions and said that Police Scotland considered that the march would breach sections 8 and 9 of this Code due it is size and the only road through the town being the main road. He advised that the march would cause significant traffic obstruction and would likely extend onto the national speed limit zone which would add a significant safety risk to road users and residents in the town. .
Environmental Health
Iain Mackinnon, the Council’s Environmental Health Manager, confirmed that he chaired the Safety Advisory Group for this part of Argyll and that it comprised all departments the Council. He advised that they had two issues to raise on behalf of the Fire Bridge, Ambulance Service and Coastguard. He stated that the rescue services relied on volunteers who used their own vehicles to get to their stations when responding to a blue light incident. He advised that there would need to be arrangements put in place to ensure they were not prevented from getting to these call outs. He added that there would also be a need to sure there were extra emergency resources put in place at both sides of the march. He advised that access to the Oban hospital would be severely restricted and confirmed that he had been advised by the Ambulance Service that there was a vehicle at Glenshellach that could be activated on the day. He confirmed that beyond that he had nothing further to add to his initial submission.
SUPPORTERS
Campbell Cameron read out the email he wrote to Charles Reppke and other Officers as detailed below:
“Dear Charles and Fiona,
It has been brought to my
attention that a hearing is to be held regarding the Independence March
proposed for June 15th.
I
would wish to submit my support for this event being approved. I would be
delighted to speak at the hearing in support.
However I note that the supporting
papers have not been published with the agenda.
This
makes it difficult to see what the Council could be concerned about other than
facilitating a major flag day for Oban.
My support for the event comes
from several angles, but that of freedom of expression of political views is my
main consideration.
This is a long held position,
defended in Scottish and British civic life.
Marches of this nature have been
growing in popularity and across Scotland have been civil, good natured family
events.
They have proven well marshalled
and respectful of other street users.
The economic benefits will be
considerable for the town of Oban with bed nights, meals and souvenir purchases
being of a great boost this early in the tourist season to our traders.
I thank you for your consideration
of my points and look forward to witnessing a grand safe and economically
beneficial event here in the Gateway to the Isles. I would also wish
Campbeltown well in its endeavour to mirror Oban's success.
Yours faithfully
Campbell Cameron”
REPRESENTEES
Councillor Green advised that he had based his representation on the forms submitted by the Applicant as well as the previous events organised by them from large events in Glasgow to small events in Dumfries. He confirmed that he had noted that the Applicants have already altered their start time and that consultees have highlighted the ferries that will be effected by this new start time. He advised that he would also like to highlight the 3.55 pm ferry that left from Oban and, due to the timing of the march, would require people to arrive earlier than usual to catch this ferry. He advised of the need for people to have the opportunity to access this ferry. He commented that Oban was fortunate to have people regularly visiting from all around the world and said that visitors may not be aware of such events going on if they were not properly brought to their attention. He referred to the emergency services and pointed out that incidents could not be foreseen. He confirmed that he was pleased that they have been made aware of the contingency plans which will be put in place by the emergency services.
Councillor Robertson thanked the Committee for taking her and Councillor Green’s concerns as representations rather than objections. She advised that her main concern was logistics due to the size of the event and the capacity of Oban to absorb that number of people. Having listened to all that had been said, she advised that she was pleased to hear from Mr MacKay that numbers would be between 1,700 and 2,000. She said that she would like to highlight that Oban was very busy on Saturdays and due to visiting cruise ships and people going for their ferries it would be helpful if the march was held a little later in the afternoon.
QUESTIONS FROM THE APPLICANT
Mr MacKay asked Inspector Stephen what measures Police Scotland usually put in place if they anticipated a hold up of traffic within the national speed limit zone. He asked how they would react to that situation. Inspector Stephen said that the march would extend into the national speed limit zone quite quickly. He pointed out that most people travelling between 50 and 60 mph will arrive at a hold up with little or no notice. He advised that BEAR Scotland, who have responsibility for the trunk road, would need to have rolling signs in place capable of being moved as far back as the queue stretches. He referred to the speed of motor bikes and said that the situation would need to be constantly monitored.
Mr MacKay asked Inspector Stephen if these measures have had to be implemented before in this area. Inspector Stephen advised that this was more likely to be required on a motorway but not on an A road such as this.
MEMBERS’ QUESTIONS
Councillor McCuish asked Mr MacKay why the start time of the march had been changed from 11.30 am to 2.30 pm. He also asked Mr MacKay to comment on the reduction of car parking fees suggested by Mr O’Neill. Mr MacKay advised that further to meetings and communications with Cal Mac it was found that a 2.30 pm start would be more advantageous. He advised that Cal Mac don’t anticipate the same level of disruptions as the representees here today. He added that starting at 2.30 pm would allow people plenty of time to travel to the event. He advised that this was a celebration and also a family friendly protest and that they wanted as many people to get here as possible. He referred to the reduction in car parking charges and commented that in the past there have been instances of these charges being waived. He asked why they were not being waived for this Group and he questioned whether this was because of political bias.
Councillor McCuish asked Inspector Stephen if Police Scotland would prefer an 11.30 am or 2.30 pm start. Inspector Stephen advised that their initial observation was that an 11.30 am start would cause less disruption.
Councillor McCuish pointed out that Members of the Committee came from all across Argyll and Bute and had been able to get to Oban in time for the 10.00 am start of this meeting and sought comment from Mr Mackay. Mr MacKay advised that this event was for people all across Scotland so a late start time was advantageous due to the travel times for these people.
Councillor Freeman commented that there appeared to be some confusion on the numbers attending. He pointed out that Mr MacKay had advised today that 1,700 people would attend but in the representation from Police Scotland they say the Applicant had stated a possibility of 2,000 – 5,000 people attending. He asked if Police Scotland had been told that the numbers attending would be 2,000 – 5,000. Mrs Cameron confirmed that was the estimate she gave at their meeting with Police Scotland. Mr MacKay confirmed that this had been an early estimate and that they have had to scale back now due to the information obtained from social media. He confirmed that the numbers now, getting closer to the event, would be 1,700.
Councillor Freeman asked why the start time was changed. He commented that it took him 40 minutes to travel to Oban from Garelochhead this morning and that from Glasgow it would take him 2.5 hours. He said that he found it difficult to see the need for a 2.30 pm start to allow people to travel across Scotland. He suggested that if people wanted to they could get here by 11.30 am. He said that he also thought the trains would get here by that time too. He asked Mr MacKay if they had received any communications from people to say that it was not possible to arrive by 11.30 am. Mr MacKay explained that you did not need to be Scottish to support this event and that people were coming from all over the world as well as from England, Ireland and Scotland. He referred to the travel time for someone coming from Aberdeen, the Borders or from Carlisle. He said that to ensure maximum attendance they needed a time that would suit everyone.
Councillor Freeman suggested that people would need to travel in advance of the day if coming from other parts of the world. He commented on Mr MacKay advising that they were only bringing one coach. He pointed out that in the original application reference was made to buses being organised rather than just one bus. Mr MacKay advised that they would have had buses but the demand for tickets was such that they now only required one bus. He confirmed that there may be others bringing buses and that is why he estimated that 6 – 10 buses may arrive on the day.
Councillor Freeman sought and received confirmation from Mr O’Neill that there were 110 paid car parking spaces at the Corran Halls car parks. Mr MacKay pointed out that the Group were looking to use the car parks as a mustering point and that they may not be bringing any cars to it.
Councillor Kinniburgh sought and received confirmation from Mr O’Neill that car parks 1 and 2 at the Corran Halls would be closed off to vehicles in order to accommodate 1,700 people to muster there. Councillor Kinniburgh questioned where those not travelling by coach would park. Mr O’Neill replied that some may come on foot, by train or may come the night before. He referred to the number of parking places across Oban. Mr MacKay advised that he did not think car parking would be pushed to the maximum. He indicated that most people would travel by bus or train. He confirmed that after this meeting they would be highlighting these issues and encouraging those intending to travel to use public transport or car share if possible. He advised that they would be looking for instruction on where the best place was to park so that they could pass this information on to their supporters.
Councillor Kinniburgh referred to Mr MacKay’s comment that people would be coming from outwith Scotland. He advised that if someone was travelling from outwith Scotland to attend a march why would they chose to stay in Aberdeen. Mr MacKay suggested that they may be combining attendance at the march with a trip home to see family. Councillor Kinniburgh advised that if it was him he would stay close to where the march was and then go on to visit with family. Mr MacKay said that this was a matter of opinion.
Councillor McCuish commented that the initial route etc was going to start from Oban High School. He pointed out that the school was closed on Saturdays and had a brand new car park there with lots of spaces and asked Mr MacKay if the Group would consider going back to this original starting point with the new start time of 2.30 pm. Mrs Cameron explained that Police Scotland had advised that there would have been too much disruption to start the march from the school and the new route was suggested at the meeting with Police Scotland as this route had been tried and tested before and would cause the least disruption to the town. Inspector Stephen explained that coming from Corran Halls the road would only be closed in one direction but coming from the school would block the road in both directions.
Councillor Freeman sought and received confirmation from Inspector Stephen that given what they have heard at the meeting today they were still of the opinion that there was a high risk to public safety and a high risk to the likelihood of disruption to the community.
Councillor Freeman sought and receive confirmation from Mr MacKay that they would not have any control over the numbers that would attend.
Councillor McCuish sought and received confirmation from Mr Reppke that it would be a matter for the Council as owners of car parks 1 and 2 at Corran Halls to decide whether the car parks needed to be closed or not and it would depend on the decision of the Committee.
Councillor Kinniburgh sought and received confirmation from Mr MacKay that the tickets for sale were tickets for the bus. Mr MacKay confirmed that there were no tickets for the event as this was a public procession open to everyone to join. He confirmed that the numbers given were based on who said they were going and who said they were interested in attending the start time of 2.30 pm.
Councillor Freeman sought and received confirmation from Inspector Stephen that their observations were based on the original start time of 11.30 am and numbers attending being 2,000 – 5,000 people.
Councillor Kinniburgh asked Mr Reppke to confirm why the papers for this meeting were restricted. Mr Reppke explained that they were restricted for online purposes only. He advised that some time ago they were contacted by someone who was the subject of a Civic Government Hearing. The person had been refused a job because their prospective employer had “googled” their name and the search came up with paperwork advising that they were not a “fit and proper person to hold a licence”, which was the terminology in the Act. Mr Reppke advised that they had complained to the Council under Data Protection legislation. He advised that in order not to repeat that unintended consequence paperwork for civic hearings was not published on the Council’s website but was available for public inspection at Kilmory.
Councillor Freeman advised that it had always been his understanding that if papers were restricted this meant he was not allowed to discuss them with the public. He asked if it was the case that he could discuss these restricted papers. Mr Reppke advised that normally when papers were restricted from the press and public the contents of them should not be discussed with the press and public but for Civic Hearings it was generally the case that these meetings were held in public but the paperwork was restricted on the website for data protection purposes.
Councillor McCuish sought and received confirmation from Mrs Cameron that she had contacted Transport Scotland about the event and that the response she had received was that Transport Scotland would work with Police Scotland to facilitate the event.
Councillor Kinniburgh asked if BEAR Scotland had made any contact with Police Scotland. Inspector Stephen advised that he was not aware if any contact had been made but they may have been in contact with the Operational Planning Unit. Mr O’Neill advised that he was not aware of any contact with BEAR Scotland.
SUMMING UP
Consultees
Roads
Hugh O’Neill commented that the Group’s primary concern was independence and that his concern was about the safety of the community and the safety of the participants. He advised that as a Council there was a need to balance the rights of people to hold a public procession and the rights of others not to be disrupted.
Police Scotland
Inspector Stephen confirmed that Police Scotland were of the opinion that this event would breach the Code of Conduct for Public Processions in terms of Section 8 and section 9 but if the Committee agreed to it going ahead Police Scotland would have all the appropriate plans in place.
Supporters
Campbell Cameron advised that picking up comments from Mr O’Neill about the expected numbers attending, he would like to point out that the Argyllshire Gathering was attended by 5,000 people and Oban Live attracted 4,000 people per day. Referring to the 6 – 10 buses he said that on a standard tourist day Lochs and Glens coaches visited Oban with that many and they came into the town and parked on Shore Street. He said that he thought the same arrangements could be made for this event. Referring to the cruise ships, he advised that they tended to disembark from the Esplanade and Parks of Hamilton coaches picked up passengers and took them away to Glasgow and this was something that Oban coped with day in and day out. He commented on Police Scotland’s concerns about traffic congestion and said that road repairs regularly caused traffic to back up. He also pointed out that during the summer drivers regularly came upon the grass cutting rolling machine at short notice. He said that people coped with that and that accidents were few. He suggested that if there was an issue with closing off the Corran Halls car parks then an alternative could be the car parks at the Atlantis Leisure which could be dealt with by the Committee by way of a condition. He pointed out that would take the route on a slightly different way down Breadalbane Street.
He referred to marches and advised that during the recent Music and Dance Festival there was a blue light incident which was dealt with wisely by people moving to the side. He advised that the Argyllshire Gathering, attended by 4,000 people, have held a march every year since 1984. He pointed out that it was Charities Day this weekend and that this march would muster at the Corran Halls and march down to Station Square. He referred to the winter festival which was held in the dark and involved Santa and his reindeer. He advised that all these marches were 4 and 5 abreast. He referred to the AUOB march held in Inverness which he had attended. He said that it had been well marshalled and well-arranged and this was the same for the Dundee march.
He commented that Cal Mac had an online text messaging service and there was the ability to get any instances of traffic reported on the radio.
Referring to parking he said that buses and cars could be accommodated as the implementation of car parking charges had freed up spaces. He said that it seemed odd to him that Dumfries could cope with 10,000 people but there was an issue for Oban with 2,000 – 5,000 people. He stated that this was no larger than the amount dealt with during the Argyllshire Gathering. He suggested that the start time could be dealt with by condition and if 2.30 pm was too late then perhaps a compromise of 12 noon could be agreed.
In conclusion he asked if what was being said was that the town could not cope with the influx of happy people looking to join a festival of fund. He pointed out that if this was rejected Argyll and Bute Council would be the first local authority in Scotland to do so. He advised that this would be a missed opportunity for traders and shops as an influx of people to the town brings significant economic benefit. He said that it would be very embarrassing if the march was rejected and he encouraged the Committee to approve this event.
Representees
Councillor Green said he would like to reiterate the points he had already made. He advised that Oban could not be directly compared to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dumfries. He pointed out that Dumfries had a bypass and the cities had multiply roads whereas Oban only had one road which the procession would close for a substantial time. He advised that he commended the Applicant for giving considerable notice of this event (received in the autumn of last year) which has allowed for a number of adjustments to be made. He also commended them for working with the authorities to make these adjustments. He referred to the need to give reasonable notice of the event to ferry users and said he noted the contingency plans that would be put in place by the Emergency Services.
Councillor Robertson thanked the Committee for holding this hearing as she thought it had cleared up a lot of issues regarding the timing of the event and the numbers involved which, she said, had originally been a major issue for her. She confirmed that she was reassured that it was now around 1,700 people attending. She referred to the suggestion that the start time could be changed to 11.30 am or 12 noon and pointed out that this could interfere with the outer isles ferries. Having the event later in the afternoon would have the same impact for the ferries but would not have the same congestion and obstruction issues.
Applicant
Neil MacKay also thanked the Committee for holding this meeting which allowed an open forum for everything to be discussed. He advised that he was pleased to hear that there would be contingency plans in place for emergency vehicles as well as appropriate policing measures. He noted the number of other parking areas in the town which were referred to and he advised that he did not think the issue regarding car parking would cause congestion. He said that it was all about the planning and implementation of procedures to facilitate this event.
Fiona Cameron confirmed that Cal Mac have advised her that a 2.30 pm would not interfere with ferry traffic and that an 11.30 am start would have more of an impact. She advised that she has also been in touch with West Coast Motors so that they can advise their customers of the event.
When asked, all parties confirmed that they had received a fair hearing.
DEBATE
Councillor Freeman said that if it was only 1,500 people then he thought the official parties could accommodate that. He advised that discussion on this has been ongoing since the autumn of last year and that all of a sudden the start time has been changed. Councillor Freeman asked Mr Reppke to confirm that if the time had not changed would this have meant there would have been no need for the hearing. Mr Reppke advised that the hearing was held due to the number of representations of concern received. He advised that he did not think the change of time was the main factor and that there were other factors highlighted in the responses.
Councillor Freeman advised that Police Scotland have highlighted their concern about the change of time and that at Civic Hearings he always took Police representations very seriously and from what he has heard the risks could have been minimised if there was an earlier start time. He advised that his concern was that the start time has been changed so late in the day.
Councillor McCuish advised that the Committee had to take into consideration the likely effect of the holding of the procession in relation to: public safety – which he said was fine; public order – which he said was fine; damage to property – which he said was fine; and disruption to the life of the community – which he believed could be mitigated with some of the suggestions made today. He suggested that if the route started at Atlantis Leisure and came down Breadalbane Street this would mitigate against interfering with ferry traffic at 2.20 pm. He said that down this street would be far more manageable with traffic being stopped at Farm Foods. He advised that if the march started at Atlantis Leisure this would also mean the car parks at Corran Halls would not need to be closed off. He advised that there was a huge bus park at Atlantis Leisure which was never used and a huge green where everyone could muster. He suggested this compromise as a way forward.
Councillor Moffat advised that she stood as an Independent candidate on the Isle of Bute and that she has not attended any marches. She said that having seen from the media these marches were family friendly and would not cause disruption in anyway socially. She advised that she came from Bute this morning and arrived in Oban by 8 am so that she had time to walk the route before this meeting. She advised that the problem was not with the march but with the geography of the town. She said it would be nice to think that there would only be 1,700 people but, in view of the European election results, she believed the march would attract far more people. She referred to the beauty of Oban and said that people would not only be drawn to the march but drawn to the beautiful area. She said she was worried about what could happen at the top of the hill where the main road was. She advised that as she knew the roads well she knew where it was safe to speed up and where it was necessary to slow down but other roads users were not so aware. She advised that she had serious concerns about the march and the effect it would have on the road. She said that it would be a shame if it did not go ahead but she had concerns about the road conditions.
Councillor Redman thanked everyone for coming and for their good presentations. He advised that he was of the same view as Councillor Moffat and that in no way was his decision based on his personal opinions about the Yes movement. He confirmed that he was a supporter of free speech. He advised that there was a need to listen to the experts who say that there will be disruptions to businesses. He advised that a large march of this nature would have disruption to businesses which was unacceptable.
Councillor Kinniburgh referred to the four points that needed to be considered: public safety – no problem; public order – no problem; damage to property – not a problem; disruption to life of the community – he said that he shared some of the concerns but thought that there were mitigation measures that could be put in place to deal with these especially as the organisers had now reduced the numbers expected. He advised that he shared Councillor Freeman’s concerns about the late change of time but from what he has heard Cal Mac were content with the later start time so if the revised time fits better for them then obviously that would be good for anyone using the ferry service. He referred to Councillor McCuish’s suggestion about using the Atlantis Leisure car park and advised that he thought that would need further investigation. Councillor McCuish confirmed that the Longsdale car park at Atlantis Leisure was in Council ownership. He also confirmed that he believed that using this car park would cause less of a disruption to the life of the community than using the Corran Halls car parks.
Mr Reppke confirmed that if the Committee were minded to put a condition that states the Longsdale car park should be used then that was a condition the Committee could impose.
Councillor Kinniburgh sought and received confirmation from Councillor McCuish that buses could drop people off at the Longsdale Car Park at Atlantis Leisure so that they could muster at the green there.
Councillor Moffat sought and received confirmation from Councillor McCuish that he was suggesting the march come down Longsdale Road then onto Breadalbane Road and would then join George Street at the Taj Mahal.
Motion
To agree to approve the application subject to the march starting at Longsdale Car park and travelling along Longsdale road, onto Breadalbane Street then onto George Street and then following the rest of the route as detailed in the Application.
Moved by Councillor Roderick McCuish, seconded by Councillor David Kinniburgh
Amendment
To refuse the application to hold a public procession due to the disruption to life of the community.
Moved by Councillor Alastair Redman, seconded by Councillor George Freeman
DECISION
The Committee agreed to approve the application subject to the march starting at Longsdale Car Park and travelling along Longsdale road, onto Breadalbane Street then onto George Street and then following the rest of the route as detailed in the Application and also to apply the standard conditions set out in Argyll and Bute Council’s Code of Conduct for Public Processions.
Having moved an Amendment which failed to find a seconder, Councillor Freeman asked for his dissent from the foregoing decision to be recorded.
(Reference: Report by Head of Governance and Law, submitted)