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����ֱ�� is inviting members of the public, shopkeepers and tenement owners along to a series of events next week to mark the completion of 13 years of successful town centre regeneration in Rothesay.

Highlighting procurement opportunities for local businesses and encouraging them to bid for tenders is a key part of ����ֱ��’s revised Procurement Strategy.

A new initiative between ����ֱ�� and key community partners will deliver vital accommodation for key workers on Coll, Tiree, Mull and in the Lorn area.

����ֱ�� today set a budget to address a £10 million+ gap in the council’s revenue budget for running services, and a nearly £30 million gap in its capital budget for infrastructure such as roads reconstruction programmes, harbour investment, regeneration projects, bridge maintenance, maintaining social care, education and Live ����ֱ�� properties, and weather recovery work.

The council is to appoint a new Housing Project Officer to help tackle the housing emergency affecting communities across ����ֱ�� and Bute.

“Councils can only spend what we can fund. We have to make choices that deliver the most benefit possible from the limited funding we have. Setting the council’s budget will be as simple and as complex as that.”

Projects in coastal communities across ����ֱ�� and Bute are set to benefit from new funding.

Fifteen arts, culture, and sports events will benefit from around £115,000 of support from the latest round of ����ֱ��’s Strategic Events and Festivals Fund (SEF).

Tackling the threat of climate change and protecting local communities and services will remain a key priority for the council in the year ahead.

A new council partnership project with Scottish Futures Trust (SFT), to assess the quality of the digital signal across the region, will be launched as part of plans to improve mobile phone coverage across ����ֱ�� and Bute.