·¬ÇÑÊÓƵapp

Young people in ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵapp schools are having their say on ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵapp Council’s proposals for a new ‘collective’ model for school leadership in the authority. These proposals aim to empower the leadership of our schools to work more effectively together and share resources to enhance the education of all pupils. They have been developed with ongoing input from ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵapp’s Head Teachers and education experts.

Projects designed to transform ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵapp and boost the appeal of its towns and villages to investors and visitors are continuing to make good progress. At a meeting of the Environment, Development and Infrastructure committee, councillors were given an update on 18 projects that have attracted funding of £37 million to support the transformation of communities across the area.

·¬ÇÑÊÓƵapp councillors have renewed their calls for urgent action to tackle the ongoing issues affecting the Rest and Be Thankful and the main A83 road. The move forms part of a wide-ranging response from the Council on various transport issues affecting the region to the Scottish Government’s draft second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2).

·¬ÇÑÊÓƵapp Council has confirmed plans to provide funding support for a range of community projects in the area. More than £800,000 from the Scottish Government’s Place Based Investment (PBI) Programme is being channelled into supporting eight new regeneration and restoration projects. In the first of five annual funding rounds from the programme, the Council received an allocation of £821,000 and has confirmed support for projects aimed at enhancing towns across ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵapp communities. These include:

·¬ÇÑÊÓƵapp Council is on track to achieve a national good practice standard for its ports and harbours that few others in the UK have secured. The Port Marine Safety Code (PMSC) sets out a national safety standard covering different aspects of running ports and harbours. The current list of 230+ ports, published by The Department for Transport as complying with the Code, represents around 14% of UK ports and 30% of Statutory Harbour Authorities.

A £15.5 million programme of investment is planned in 2022/23 for ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵapp Council’s ports and harbours.A report to today’s meeting of the Harbour Board outlined various marine services projects being progressed by the council now:

·¬ÇÑÊÓƵapp Council’s Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee has endorsed an £8m roads improvement programme for the area. This sum includes an additional £2.6 million, approved at last month’s budget meeting. Allocations for the 2022-23 roads reconstruction programme are as follows: Area Spend for 2022-23

A multi-agency exercise will take place at Oban Airport on Saturday 5 March, 11.15am to 12.45pm. Emergency services, support agencies and volunteer groups will come together to respond to a pre-planned scenario, designed to check safety procedures. The airport is required to test emergency procedures routinely, as a condition of its licence for the Civil Aviation Authority.  Please do not be alarmed if you hear sirens or see blue lights at the airport, this is part of the exercise.

Two schools in ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵapp are celebrating after winning at this year’s prestigious FilmG Awards. Pupils from Sandbank Primary School’s Gaelic 5-7 class scooped Best Film Production in the under 12 category, while Islay High School’s entry won Best Film (Learners). FilmG is an annual event organised by MG ALBA, which celebrates Gaelic screen talent and attracts hundreds of applications each year. This year’s competition culminated in a highly anticipated awards ceremony broadcast on BBC ALBA on Friday evening (25 February).

  ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵapp Council is encouraging people to book their places for the third Gaelic Gathering, which takes place virtually via Zoom on Saturday 12 March. The event is free and provides an opportunity for organisations, community groups and individuals to meet with national organisations and share ideas on how they can work in partnership to help grow the Gaelic language.