PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
:
Minutes:
Question from Duncan Martin, Oban Community Council
Oban Community Council insists that this summer
Ganavan Car Park must be effectively managed to facilitate its use both by the
residents of Oban and by the many visitors expected this summer.
Could Mr. Smith please provide his management plan.
This must include some method of controlling the
use of the car park by caravans and campervans, which at times made the area
unusable by the general public. It must also address the wider issue of accommodating
these visitors elsewhere in Oban - perhaps the old Council yard could be used
temporarily? It has water, electricity and sewage facilities.
Response from Head of Roads and Infrastructure Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ
In the absence of a relevant officer the Committee
Manager read out the following statement from the Head of Roads and
Infrastructure Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ.
At the Council Budget meeting held on 25th
February, the Council allocated funding to deal with staycation visitors as
detailed in the table below.
|
Investing in Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ and Bute’s
Opportunities - £0.830m |
||
|
£500°ì |
Staycation Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ and Bute -
Supporting recovery and renewal by maximising the potential for growth in
Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ and Bute’s camping and campervan staycation market |
Additional funds to be spent
across 2021/22 and 2022/23 to support the delivery of a range of facilities
across Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ and Bute necessary to support camping and caravan
staycations. This will include provision of additional waste disposal
facilities to be available prior to the summer of 2021 and other facilities
that will be informed by the Motorhome and Informal Camping Survey.
Additional wardens to be employed over the period April to October 2021 to
raise awareness in respect of camping responsibly. |
At a Council wide level work is currently underway
to help promote and manage responsible staycation experiences across the
Council area. The work on the ground is being progressed by officers from
Development and Economic Growth, Roads and Infrastructure and a multitude of
partner agencies.
In terms of parking generally, a report was
presented to the EDI Committee in December 2020 and it was agreed that follow
up reports are to be taken to the June Area Committee which will cover TROs and
parking matters across the council area.
The current TRO for Ganavan car park permits the
following vehicle types to park:
Within the rules for use the following applies:
Article 7 (iv) “No person shall use any part of a
parking place or vehicle or trailer in it for residential or camping purposes.â€
Article 7 (vi) “No person shall use any vehicle or
trailer as sleeping accommodation while it is parked upon a parking place
except where specifically authorised by the Council.â€
Response from Committee
Concerns were raised by Councillor McCuish, Councillor
Robertson, Duncan Martin and Marri Malloy that the report and response from the
Head of Roads and Infrastructure were general in nature and did not
specifically address concerns in Ganavan or the Oban, Lorn and the Isles area
as a whole. It was agreed that the Committee Manager would seek a further
response from the Head of Roads and Infrastructure Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ providing specific
detail in relation to Ganavan and the Oban, Lorn and the Isles area.
Following a query from Councillor McGrigor, it was
agreed that the Committee Manager would also request more detailed information
from the Head of Roads and Infrastructure Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ in relation to facilities
which would be available across the Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ and Bute area.Ìý The Committee Manager agreed to circulate any
responses received to Mr Martin and Members of the Area Committee.
The Chair confirmed that she had raised concerns
around the situation at Ganavan and across the Oban, Lorn and the Isles area in
advance of restrictions being eased with the Policy Lead and Council Leader.
Question from Marri Malloy, Oban Community Council
Marri Malloy requested clarification as to how the
situation at Ganavan would be managed and whether wardens would be able to
manage the situation at Ganavan whereby people used the car park to stay in
overnight and left early in the morning.
Response from Committee
In the absence of the Head of Road and
Infrastructure Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ, it was agreed that the Committee Manager would forward
this question to him and circulate any response to Ms Malloy and Members of the
Area Committee.Ìý
Question from Charles Fothringham, Appin Community Council
Mr Fothringham advised that concerns had been
raised by local parents at the beginning of the pandemic around possible issues
in recruiting teachers for Oban High School, following reports that some pupils
did not have teachers for some subjects.
Response from Committee
Councillor McCuish sought and received confirmation
from Mr Fothringham that he would be happy for Councillor McCuish to ask the
Head Teacher of Oban High School this question at item 5 (a) of the
agenda.Ìý
Councillor Devon provided information around the
planned co-ordination of timetables for Tobermory, Tiree and Oban High Schools that
helps to expand the number of subjects pupils can access.
Due to their similarity in nature, it was agreed by the Chair that the
below questions would be raised and answered jointly:
Question from Alison Chadwick, Friends of Ganavan
On behalf of Friends of Ganavan could we ask our
Area committee members who makes the decision the Local Development Plan 2
(LDP2) is the ‘settled status’ of the council? Is this taken by elected members
and if so was this done by a vote of the full (elected) Council? Did you all
vote to approve the settled status?
Question from Councillor McCuish, submitted on behalf of a constituent
It has been stated the
Council has a settled view on the LDP 2 how did this arise and what meeting of
the full council did this take place were selected members consulted or is the
settled view that of officials only.
Response from Committee and Development Policy and Housing Strategy
Manager
The Chair ... view the full minutes text for item 4
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