News

Lismore residents today welcomed the arrival of a new passenger ferry. The Lady of Lismore arrived at Port Appin after a journey of 302 nautical miles from Pembrokeshire. Argyll and Bute Council awarded the £500,000 contract, funded by Transport Scotland to Mainstay Marine Solutions.

The full list of candidates standing for election to Argyll and Bute Council has now been published. The Notice of Poll for the Scottish Local Government Elections on 5th May 2022 can be found on the council’s website. In Argyll and Bute, people will elect 36 councillors to represent the area’s 11 council wards.

Local communities should be involved in putting excess council resources to good use – this is the key recommendation from an investigation into why materials including Gaelic books were put in a skip during the clearance of a council office. Findings from the investigation found that resources from the Council’s Education Office in Oban had in many cases been re-distributed across council services. Reasons for there being exceptions to this include: -          The council has moved to using on-line Gaelic dictionaries so requires fewer paper versions

Argyll and Bute Council's Empty Homes Team has picked up the highly sought after ‘Outstanding Team Award’ at this year’s Scottish Empty Homes Awards. The awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding work and achievements of individuals and organisations in reviving empty homes across Scotland. The Council has enjoyed previous success at the awards and had five entries shortlisted as finalists this year, including two out of the three finalists in the Best before/after and Best Old Wreck categories.

Argyll and Bute Council’s Local Housing Strategy (LHS) has been formally launched following approval by the Scottish Government. The strategy outlines the Council’s vision and investment priorities for the area’s housing sector over the next five years, and received praise from the Scottish Government for demonstrating extensive engagement with a wide range of communities, community groups, and stakeholders.

The Scottish Government has extended the funding deadline for taxi/private hire drivers and operators to 25 March 2022. The grant is available for taxi drivers and operators who have faced financial challenges as a result of covid measures introduced to control the spread of infection.   Who can apply?Funding is available for new licence holders and for those who have not previously applied.   How do I apply?New licence holders /forms/taxi-driver-self-declaration

Are you interested in representing your local community?  Do you want to play a part in shaping the services that local people use? The Scottish Local Government Elections take place on 5 May 2022. Communities across Scotland will choose the 1,227 councillors who will represent them on the country’s 32 local authorities for the next five years. People in Argyll and Bute will elect 36 of those councillors to represent their communities.

The Scottish Local Government Elections take place on Thursday 5th May 2022. The Notice of Election for Argyll and Bute is now published and available on Argyll and Bute Council’s website  /scottish-local-government-elections-may-2022 Voters in Argyll and Bute will elect thirty six councillors, representing eleven council wards. They include a mix of rural, remote and island communities as well as larger villages and towns.  

To conclude Scottish Apprenticeship Week, Robert Miller, Argyll and Bute Council’s Customer Engagement and Transformation Manager, talks about what it is like to employ a Modern Apprentice. “We had a number of successful Summer Student placements over the year, so we thought it was time to go a step further and employ a Modern Apprentice,” he said. “

“People in Argyll and Bute have responded with overwhelming kindness to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.” Councillor Robin Currie, Leader of Argyll and Bute Council has paid tribute to communities across the area who are helping Ukrainians who are fleeing the war. Communities are showing their support by collecting donations of clothing and other vital supplies and arranging transport to Europe.