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Ongoing investment in Argyll and Bute’s roads continues to halt deterioration and overall condition of the roads shows continued improvement. And Argyll and Bute remains in the top five fastest improving Scottish Local Authorities in terms of road condition. The Annual Status and Options Report (ASOR) summarises the council’s road assets as at April 2018 and sets out future options that can be considered in terms of investment.

A council contribution of £270,000 capital funding towards a flood protection scheme for Campbeltown will go forward to be considered as part of the budget process in the 2020/21 financial year. This was agreed by the council’s Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday 5 December, which also approved the preliminary confirmation of the Campbeltown Flood Protection Scheme (CFPS).

Planning to ensure that the council-run cemeteries can meet the needs of communities in the future is already underway. The Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee agreed on Thursday that local residents should be asked about their personal choices and for their views ideas for ways forward, during 2020, so that a new set of cemetery policies can be proposed. According to statute, local authorities are only required to provide one cemetery per area. Argyll and Bute had 65 cemeteries available for the purchase of lairs.

Argyll and Bute Council has reaffirmed its commitment to improving the educational attainment and life chances of care experienced children and young people. At a meeting of the Council’s Community Services Committee members were given an update on the progress of work to support vulnerable young people across Argyll and Bute.

Argyll and Bute Council is one of eight local authorities across the North and West of Scotland which are working together to ensure children and young people are given the best educational opportunities. Known as the Northern Alliance, the partnership is a Regional Improvement Collaborative (RIC) set up to secure excellence and equity in education.

Counselling services are to be made available to young people in Argyll and Bute, as part of the Scottish Government’s 10 year Mental Health Strategy. At a meeting of Argyll and Bute Council’s Community Services Committee this week, members agreed to support the initiative, which will see children as young as 10 having access to a trained counsellor.

Brendan O’Hara has been elected as the Member of Parliament for Argyll and Bute in the UK general election.   Votes from the Argyll and Bute parliamentary constituency have been counted and the result has been declared as follows:    Rhea Louise Barnes, Scottish Labour Party – 3,248 Gary Mulvaney, Scottish Conservative and Unionist – 16,930 Brendan O’Hara, Scottish National Party (SNP) – 21,040 Alan Reid, Scottish Liberal Democrats – 6,832  

Where will you see Vanilla Ice, Gritny Spears, Captain Gritter Pants and The Grittersaurus keeping the roads free of ice and snow? In Argyll and Bute – thanks to the imaginations of primary school pupils across the region. In October, the council took delivery of 17 new vehicles to join its fleet of winter maintenance vehicles. And we thought one gritter in each of our four areas should have a name. The challenge was put out to our schools and great ideas and fantastic drawings came flooding in. The winners are:

Argyll and Bute has aspirations to become the centre of seaweed farming excellence. A report, commissioned by Argyll and Bute Council, has set out a template for setting up and running a seaweed farming business from conception right through to selling products to consumers. Produced by the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), in Oban, and funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), the study highlights a major new opportunity for economic growth for Argyll and Bute.

New apps now enable travellers on council-run ferries to buy tickets via their phones or other mobile devices. This extends the range of ways to pay to include cash, debit/credit cards on board the ferries or via the council website, making the service more convenient for users. Customers wishing to pay using a mobile device app should visit either Google Store (Android) or App Store (iPhone) and search for: