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Work has begun to improve access at bus stops and replace some bus shelters in the Helensburgh and Lomond area. Work will be carried out by ����ֱ�� supported by £100,000 funding from Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT). The main focus of the work is improving access to bus stops, within the Rosneath Peninsula, from Coulport to Garelochhead. This involves making sure that there is hard-standing and dropped kerbs at both sides of the road to make sure that all the stops are fully compliant.

Children who turn five between 1 March 2020 and 28 February 2021 should be registered for primary school during the week beginning Monday 13 January 2020. Parents should take their children to their local primary school to register during that week, between 10am and 3pm. Further information, including how to make a placing request and how to request early entry to primary school, can be found on the council website:

Local coastline initiatives will share £1.158 million funding allocated to ����ֱ�� and Bute from the Scottish Government’s Crown Estates Fund. At the Council's Policy and Resources Committee, councillors agreed that the funding should support projects across ����ֱ�� and Bute: ·         Tobermory railings and flood prevention scheme - £145,000  ·         Rothesay pontoons improvement - £151,000  ·         Helensburgh flood mitigation - £300,000 ·         Campbeltown flood defences - £270,000

“The festive season is with us once again, that special time of peace, love and celebration. “For many people, this can be a difficult time. My thoughts and wishes are with them. I know that there are many, many people in our communities, throughout ����ֱ�� and Bute, who will do all they can to provide comfort and hope amid the festivities. I thank them for all their work, at this time and throughout the year.

More girls than boys in Cowal would like to pursue a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) when they leave school, according to a survey carried out during an exciting and innovative event at Dunoon Grammar last week. Primary five pupils from schools across the peninsula went along to Dunoon Grammar for “Mission to Mars” – a STEM event organised by the Digital Learning Team and supported by the school and Science Grrl Glasgow.

Moves to expand Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) and implement 1140 hours of funded ELC in ����ֱ�� and Bute by August 2020 are on schedule, ����ֱ��’s Community Services Committee has confirmed. The expansion in childcare, from 600 hours to 1140 hours, is part of a Scottish Government initiative aimed at providing young people with a high quality experience that can make a significant contribution to their development, and help close the poverty related attainment gap.

����ֱ�� has welcomed the success of a £500,000 fund in attracting new residents and jobs to the area. At the meeting this week of the Policy and Resources Committee, councillors reviewed a report on the economic impact of the Rural Resettlement Fund which showed that 193 new residents, including 56 children, relocated to ����ֱ�� and Bute thanks to Fund support.  Of that number, 18 people with families relocated to take up a job on one of our islands, resulting in 53 new inhabitants in these communities across ����ֱ�� and Bute.

Welcome to ����ֱ��’s weekly news round-up. Thank you for reading it. If you have ideas on how we could make it more useful for you, we’d love to hear them. Please let us know by emailing press@argyll-bute.gov.uk Support extended for care experienced children and young people ����ֱ�� has reaffirmed its commitment to improving the educational attainment and life chances of care experienced children and young people.

Caring pupils at Clachan Primary School have been hard at work over the last few months, preparing 48 Christmas cakes to give to retired residents in the local community. The annual school tradition dates back more than two decades and sees the children bake, package and hand-deliver the cakes to elderly people in the village.

Planning to ensure that the council-run cemeteries can meet the needs of communities in the future is already underway. The Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee agreed on Thursday that local residents should be asked about their personal choices and for their views ideas for ways forward, during 2020, so that a new set of cemetery policies can be proposed. According to statute, local authorities are only required to provide one cemetery per area. ����ֱ�� and Bute had 65 cemeteries available for the purchase of lairs.