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Argyll needs and deserves a long-term solution for the Rest and Be Thankful. This is the view of Argyll and Bute Council. While councils are not responsible for trunk roads like the A83, we will continue working with relevant organisations and the Scottish Government to provide whatever support we can in delivering a solution. We note your comments and will include the impact the road’s closure is having on you and local businesses in our work to raise awareness of the need for long-term improvement action.

A rural growth deal for Argyll and Bute will take another step forward if an outline proposal is agreed at a special meeting of Council next week. A report going to Council sets out an ambitious, multi-million pound proposal for UK and Scottish Government investment in growing Argyll and Bute’s economy. Council Leader, Councillor Aileen Morton, explained why the Council is seeking a rural growth deal:

A little girl from Kilninver Primary School’s pre-5 unit has created a recipe book of smoothies to encourage her fellow pupils to eat healthily. Four-year-old Heidi Martin loves fruit and vegetables at snack time and was keen to make sure that her passion was passed on.  With some help from her teachers, Heidi wrote out her favourite recipes and drew colourful illustrations to accompany them to form a book. Not only were her friends and teachers impressed, but Heidi’s actions also caught the attention of the school’s cateri

 The council leader has welcomed news that just over £500,000 of funding has been allocated to Argyll and Bute for three projects supporting the growing tourism sector.  Councillor Aileen Morton said: “I’m delighted to see that projects on three of our islands – Mull, Islay and Tiree – have been allocated money through the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund.

Almost 6000 people have signed up to the council’s new Customer Outreach Service which allows them to be alerted to important service updates in their area by text or email. The new system was set up to ensure residents of Argyll and Bute were being given the most relevant and topical information in a way that best suits them. Members of the public can choose which updates they want to receive and whether they want to be given that information in an email or a text message to their mobile phone.

From October 2018, Argyll and Bute Council will no longer charge burial and cremation fees for children and young people under 18 years old. This puts in place national guidance agreed by the Scottish Government and COSLA and will provide consistency across Scotland as to when the charges for adult burials are levied. Currently, Argyll and Bute does not charge burial and cremation fees to children under the age of 16.

Argyll and Bute Council will ask the public what their priorities are for its work, in preparation for meeting a gap in its funding in 2019 currently estimated to be around £2.5 million. Councillor Aileen Morton, Leader of the Council explained: “The majority (80%) of the council’s funding comes from the Scottish Government. We won’t know how much our funding settlement is until the end of the year, but have to set our budget in February 2019.

Pupils from across Argyll and Bute have an active role in creating their school lunch menus and young people from Lochgilphead Primary were only too happy to show off the delicious food on offer during a visit by the council’s policy lead and depute policy lead for education.  

The time has come for us to refresh the music played down the telephone line when people are on hold with our Customer Service Centre – and ideally we want it to be music created by a resident of Argyll and Bute. While we strive not to keep anyone on hold at all, there are busy times when callers may need to wait for their call to be answered. We’d like to hear from local musicians and composers who would be interested in having their music used for this purpose. What we’re looking for is:

Work on the £14million refurbishment of Rothesay Pavilion is ramping up, with the building on track for a 2019 opening. Progress is being made on construction of a new main roof for the building, while internally main contractor CBC have installed elements of the new café and the Pavilion’s new ground floor exhibition space. Also on the ground floor, the new club and venue areas are being created. Full details on progress at the site can be found in a report presented to the Bute and Cowal Area Committee this month.