Three communities in ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ could still have their own community council, with the decision today to hold a third round of by-elections.
¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ held elections on 26 April 2018. This established 44 community councils out of a total of 56 across the area.
Further by-elections were run on 26 June 2018 to encourage more nominations. Another nine community councils were successfully set up.
The future of the three remaining – Ardentinny, Lismore and Sandbank – was considered at today’s meeting of ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥.
Councillor Rory Colville, Policy Lead for Corporate Services, said: “Having held two sets of elections, we had the option of leaving the three remaining community councils in effect out-of-action. Another option would have been to change boundaries to include them with other areas, and so reduce the number of community councils in ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥.
"Community councils though play a key role. They are a link between local communities and their council. They are another way for people to make their opinions known.
"We have therefore taken the decision to hold a third round of elections, to provide another chance for Ardentinny, Lismore and Sandbank to have their own community council.â€
The date of the next by-elections, and deadlines for nominations, will be announced shortly.
Councillor Robin Currie, Policy Lead for Communities, said: “Community councils support their local areas in different ways, anything from running events to fundraising for projects. It’s in the interests of local people that they have a community council to support them so we want to do all we can to fill all 56 councils. I would encourage everyone in the three remaining areas to find out more about being a community councillor.â€