News

Round three of Argyll and Bute Council’s Strategic Events and Festivals Fund opens for applications at midday on 22 October 2020.  Round three is open to events and festivals that are of strategic importance to the area and that will take place between April 2021 and March 2022.

Following consultation with local communities and stakeholders, in which 1500 people gave their views, projects have been agreed that will make it easier for people to move around town centres easily and safely. The plans have been made possible thanks to the Spaces for People programme - a £38M fund established by the Scottish Government and managed by Sustrans to enable safe physical distancing for people walking, wheeling and cycling.

Hermitage Park in Helensburgh joins the best parks and greens in Scotland after achieving Green Flag status from Keep Scotland Beautiful. The Green Flag Award is the benchmark for green spaces and recognises the hard work of managers, staff and volunteers who help ensure that outdoor areas provide locals with a safe, clean and inspiring local environment.

Campbeltown residents are invited to apply for a £25 voucher for individuals and a £50 voucher for families (households of more than one person) from the town’s GM Duncan bequest. When Major George Melville Duncan died in 1958, he bequeathed money to the then Campbeltown Town Council for the ‘benefit of the poor of the Burgh in the form of gifts, of fuel, clothing and foodstuffs during the winter months’. Andrew Greenlees set up a Trust on his death which provided for the poor of Campbeltown.

Argyll and Bute’s council is asking for communities and businesses to give their ideas on the best way to promote a shop local messages in seven towns and Islay across the area. Community Links, which is working with the council to create new, bespoke and locally relevant poster campaigns, has set up a series of on-line meetings so that people can contribute their ideas to encourage people to shop local.

  The benefits of Dunoon Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) will soon be seen on Google Street View as the interior of some of the newly refurbished buildings will be available as 360 degree tours. Dunoon CARS has teamed up with a local Google Trusted Photographer to update Dunoon’s decade-old Google Street View shots.

Budget planning will be on the agenda when the council’s Policy and Resources Committee meets next week. Councillors will consider reports that set out the scale of financial challenge, and work being done to prepare for the council setting its budget in February next year. Councillor Gary Mulvaney, Policy Lead for Financial Services said:

Regeneration work on Lochgilphead Front Green and Colchester Square, Lochgilphead, is now expected to begin in 2021. Councillor Alastair Redman, Policy Lead for Economic Development, said: “I want to reassure everyone that we are working really hard to deliver the projects successfully. Our goal is for construction to begin in 2021 with the majority of works being completed during the summer.

Communities across Argyll and Bute continue to play a significant part in the response to COVID-19. Argyll and Bute Council and partner organisations are looking to understand the strengths and challenges experienced during lockdown and to better understand how to work together moving forward in this time of resilience and recovery.  Following a series of conversations with community groups, an online forum is now available to collate all feedback and gather views on a number of issues. They include: What were the challenges communities faced during Covid-19?

Work is underway to create a multi-million pound swimming pool, leisure centre and enhanced flood defences for Helensburgh. In only a month, the Waterfront Development is taking shape with rock armour in place for the sea defences, foundation piles and ground beams prepared for steel works arriving in November.