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Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ and Bute 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 £15.5 million programme of investment is planned in 2022/23 for Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ and Bute 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:

Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ and Bute 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 Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ and Bute communities. These include:

Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ and Bute 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).

Projects designed to transform Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ and Bute 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.

Young people in Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ and Bute schools are having their say on Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ and Bute 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 Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ and Bute’s Head Teachers and education experts.

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.

  Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ and Bute 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.

Thursday 10 March is #WelcomeToYourVoteDay - and the Electoral Commission is encouraging everyone aged 16 or over, and resident in Scotland, to register to vote so that they can take part in the council elections in May. Recent changes in the law in Scotland mean that many new Scots will have their first opportunity to have their say on who they want to represent them on their local council - which makes decisions on a range of issues which affect everyday life, including education, social care, housing, rubbish and recycling collections.

Two schools in Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æ and Bute 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).