News

Argyll and Bute Council is boosting local business and reducing food miles with sustainable school dinners, receiving a national award for their work putting local food on school lunch plates. Argyll and Bute Council has once again been recognised for offering fresh, healthy and sustainable school lunches, receiving the Soil Association Scotland’s Bronze Food for Life Served Here award for the seventh year running. 

The subsidised air services from Oban to Coll, Colonsay and Tiree will continue after Argyll and Bute Council agreed an interim contract with Hebridean Air. Hebridean Air Services Limited will continue to operate the flights from 16 May, while the council now undertakes the evaluation stage of the procurement process for a new four-year contract. The deadline for tenders being submitted for the second round of procurement passed on 2 May.

Pupils and staff from Dunoon Grammar’s business and computing department made their voices heard when they were invited to take part in two prestigious, international forums. The first event took place in San Jose, California, where leading American entrepreneurs met at a week-long ‘Unreasonable Futures’ conference to discuss innovation.

A Scottish Government report has highlighted that Argyll and Bute Council’s planning service continues to provide a high quality service to businesses and residents. The council submitted its 2017-2018 Planning Performance Framework (PPF) to Scottish Ministers and maintained the previous year’s high standard by scoring 11 green ratings across 15 areas of the service measured. The service is shown to be performing well against national statistics and key performance indicators.

The head boy and girl at Dunoon Grammar set a great example of how leadership is being strengthened at all levels across Argyll and Bute’s schools, when they chaired a meeting of the council’s Full Community Planning Partnership. Before the meeting began, S6 pupils Rhonan Colquhoun and Lauren Keith spoke highly about their time at Dunoon Grammar and the work the school does to support pupils and integrate with the local community.

Putting equalities into action will help build the great future we all want for Argyll and Bute. These were the words of Councillor Rory Colville, Policy Lead for Corporate Services, following approval of the council’s Equalities Mainstreaming Report 2019. The report sets out the council’s progress in embedding equality in its day-to-day work.

Argyll and Bute Council’s ‘One Council’ approach to property management has raised over £3million in its first 11 months of operation. With over 1700 buildings and parcels of land, the council transformed its approach to estate management to help meet the challenge of on-going cuts in funding. All council property now comes under one team, tasked with delivering a proactive, commercially astute management service.

Argyll and Bute Council has today agreed to gift a strip of council-owned land at Innellan Village Hall to the charity which manages the hall. The village hall is a focal point in Innellan, playing host to various groups like the Public Hall Archive Project, community council meetings, SWRI, visiting theatre groups, art club, yoga groups, badminton club and carpet bowls.

Argyll and Bute Council has gifted a piece of land to a nursery on Bute to enable it to grow and create additional childcare places for young people on the island. Apple Tree Nursery is based in Rothesay and the land concerned is at the rear of Rothesay Pavilion, adjoining the nursery. By gifting Apple Tree this land, it will enable the nursery to increase provision for young people in the area – something strongly supported by the council’s education services as part of the Scottish Government’s 1140 hours requirement.

A talented young pupil from Rhu Primary School has had her art work put on display at a prestigious exhibition in the Tannahill Centre in Paisley. Rosa McLeod, of primary five, was selected as a runner-up in the prestigious John Byrne National Drawing Competition, beating off stiff competition from more than 7,000 entrants.