FOLLOWING a meeting of the Oban Common Good Fund on Friday 31 August, a number of organisations in the Oban, Lorn and the Isles can look forward to a welcome funding boost.

Argyll and Bute councillors met with fund trustees to agree a number of financial awards – including £8,000 to assist Oban traders to provide new Christmas lights for the town. A further £2,000 will be underwritten by the fund in the event of any shortfall.

BID4Oban has received £3,000 towards the completion of their forthcoming ballot and the Camanachd Association has also been awarded a £3,000 contribution towards the cost of the Camanachd Cup final in Oban later this month – an all-Argyll shinty final which has the potential to bring many more visitors to Oban.

Lorn Medals has been asked to provide detailed costings for its fund application which has been agreed in principle.

Oban Common Good Fund chair, Councillor Elaine Robertson, said: “We are delighted to have been able to make these awards to local projects which will be of benefit to the community.

“We will also be exploring ways of making the fund’s business more accessible. This will include a dedicated web page with information about the work of the trust, minutes of meetings and application forms.

“The Oban Common Good Fund has supported a number of local projects over the years, with an ever-increasing number of applicants.”

Councillor Robertson stressed that applications are welcome from a variety of projects: “We are keen to hear from small projects as well as large ones. However all groups should be aware that income is reducing due to lower investment returns. This means that careful scrutiny of all applications will continue to be a key priority for the Oban Common Good Fund.”