News

The island of Lismore will have a new ferry running to Port Appin by the end of this year. Argyll and Bute Council has awarded the contract to build the new 12 metre replacement ferry to Welsh marine engineers and workboat builders Mainstay Marine Solutions. The new ferry will be built to meet the specifications set out in new regulations being introduced by the Maritime Coastguard Agency.

The Discretionary Fund phase 2 is now open and available to small businesses and the self-employed based in Argyll and Bute. The fund is open to businesses who have suffered from the impact of the pandemic and who have not been in receipt of any COVID-19 related business support funds since 1 October 2020.  

Members of the public will be able to watch key council committee meetings on-line when its initiative to develop digital meetings completes later this year. The Council agreed when it met yesterday (15 April) to continue holding committee meetings virtually, as part of working covid-safely. It also agreed to move to using digital software that makes it possible to stream and record meetings as they take place.

Talented knitters from across the globe came together to assist Hermitage Primary when the school’s parent council made an appeal for people to help them pay tribute to the achievements of pupils during lockdown. The school’s values are ‘Bees’: Be Kind, Be Respectful, Be Responsible and Be the Best You Can Be. So, the parent council invited people to knit a unique bee for every member of the schools – 450 pupils and staff!

Plans to transfer Argyll and Bute Council’s Community Learning and Development service over to liveArgyll were formally approved at today’s meeting of the full council. The arrangement comes as part of a Leisure Theme review that formed the council’s budget planning process for 2021-22. Argyll and Bute Council’s Policy Lead for Education, Councillor Yvonne McNeilly, said: “As part of the Leisure Theme Review, the council and liveArgyll mutually agreed that it would be beneficial to transfer Community Learning and Development over to liveArgyll.

Do you want to have your say in the Scottish Parliamentary Elections? Take five minutes to register to vote and make sure you are able to take part. There is still time to register before the deadline of Monday 19 April. The Scottish Parliamentary Election takes place on Thursday 6 May 2021. Everyone in Scotland is represented by eight Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) - one constituency MSP and seven MSPs for the larger region in which they live.

Provost of Argyll and Bute, Councillor David Kinniburgh said: “It is with sadness that we learned about the death of HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh.

To help increase your online presence, the council has commissioned a series of webinars and one-to-one technical support. Three webinars will take place on the following dates and you can register your interest using the links:

The rules are changing for some of the non-essential businesses re-opening on Monday 5 April. Hairdressers and barbers

Pupils from Lochnell Primary in Oban didn't let Covid-19 get in the way of their school trip when they went on a virtual train journey to London on the Caledonian Sleeper! On the day, learners met in their usual virtual classroom before being given their code to 'board' the train and explore it on the Caledonian Sleeper website. After some fun games along the way, the youngsters ‘arrived’ at Euston Station where they were split into two groups and a register was taken to make sure no one had been left behind!