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������Ƶapp Council has approved a new housing strategy that sets out plans to build more than 1,000 affordable homes over the next five years.  The revised Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) has the potential to deliver around 343 new affordable homes in 2021/22 and over 700 additional homes in subsequent years.

Members of ������Ƶapp Council have agreed to develop a series of ambitious infrastructure projects which could form part of bids for funding from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund (UKLUF). UKLUF will see local authorities across the UK compete for a share of £4.8 billion capital funding which will support investment projects with up to £20 million of funding, in addition to investment in larger high value transport projects up to £50m in exceptional circumstances.

“City status for Oban would create opportunities for growth across ������Ƶapp. Competing for the title, with other places across the UK, is about showcasing that this is a great place to live, work and invest. It’s about attracting the people, skills and investment the area needs for long-term success. I would encourage everyone to get involved in helping Oban, and ������Ƶapp, win.” Leader of ������Ƶapp Council, Councillor Robin Currie, highlighted the importance of community feedback, following today’s decision by Council to bid for city status for Oban in 2022.

Dunoon Grammar will take to the global stage once again when staff and pupils deliver a virtual seminar at this year’s World Education Week. After becoming the first Scottish school to deliver a session at the prestigious worldwide education showpiece last year, the school has again been invited to present an hour-long workshop to showcase their innovative approaches to community learning during the Covid pandemic.

Roadworks are planned to resurface and strengthen the B8024 from the junction with the C23, at the Tarbert Golf Club, northwards towards the A83 junction near Stonefield Castle. This project will start on the 11 October and is expected to take eight weeks. The road will be closed, from the golf course junction northwards to the A83 junction near Stonefield, while the work is being carried out to make sure it can be done as safely and efficiently as possible. Signage will be in place to indicate the closure.

The new blue bin recycling service for Kintyre and Gigha will start from 4 October. The new service is designed to make it more convenient for people in Kintyre to recycle. It will be sustainable in the long-term as new government legislation for waste disposal and recycling comes into place. The new dates for scheduled uplifts are on the council website: Kintyre (argyll-bute.gov.uk).  They can also be downloaded and printed out as calendars.

Pupils and staff at Dunoon Grammar are celebrating the news that the school has become Scotland’s first ever Digital Schoolhouse. As a Digital Schoolhouse (DSH), Dunoon Grammar, together with Nintendo UK, will use play-based learning to engage the next generation of learners and teachers with the computing science curriculum. The Digital Schoolhouse initiative is delivered by the UK games industry’s trade body Ukie and is backed by the creative digital industries and government. Sponsors include digital heavyweights including PlayStation®, SEGA, Ubisoft and Outright Games.

“We have to be ambitious for ������Ƶapp. We have to consider all opportunities to grow our economy.” These were the words of the Leader of ������Ƶapp Council, Councillor Robin Currie, in advance of a Council meeting which will consider bidding for city status for Oban.

A free lime mortar course is taking place at Hermitage Park Helensburgh from 28 September to 1 October. The course, delivered by the Scottish Lime Centre Trust, is open to anyone with an interest in traditional skills, building conservation or maintaining their property.   Lime mortar is more sympathetic to older buildings than cement based mortar. It is breathable and flexible with a lower carbon footprint than modern cement mortars.  

Schools, voluntary organisations, charities and businesses from across ������Ƶapp will come together next month to host ������Ƶapp Council's first ever Education Climate Summit. The event will take place via an online platform on Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 October – a week before COP 26 – and will see a range of key speakers joining forces to raise awareness about a variety of climate change issues.