����ֱ��

The deadline for applications to this year's ����ֱ�� and Bute Youth Awards has been extended until next Saturday (30 November). If you know a young person aged between 11 and 25 who is truly inspirational, now is your chance to let them know how great they are by nominating them.

The next in the series of public consultation drop-in events is being held at the Rockfield Centre, Oban, on Thursday 28 November as part of ����ֱ��’s Local Flood Risk Management Plan. Representatives from ����ֱ�� and flood defence experts will be at the Rockfield Centre to answer questions. The event comprises “drop-in” sessions from 12.30-3.00pm and 6.00-8.00pm. There will be presentations, followed by question and answer sessions, at 1.00pm and 6.30pm.

A small number of changes have been made to polling stations in ����ֱ�� and Bute for the forthcoming UK Parliamentary Election on 12 December. While changes like this are avoided if at all possible, timescales and other factors on this occasion mean that some changes have been necessary. In making alternative arrangements, issues like accessibility have, as always, been very carefully considered and every step taken to minimise as far as possible any impact on voters.

����ֱ��’s annual Early Years Conference in Dunoon has been hailed a roaring success. ‘We Are Connected, Curious and Creative!’ was the theme of this year’s event, and delegates travelled from throughout Scotland to attend.

����ֱ�� is urging people only to buy salmon from a reputable source. Twenty tonnes of salmon has gone missing following an accident on the A82 near the Bridge of Orchy where a lorry overturned. This salmon may have entered the food supply chain. It is potentially unsafe to eat and should not be consumed. At the time of the accident the salmon was head on and gutted and of various sizes. It had not undergone processing. There is a possibility it is has been contaminated and may not have been subject to the required chilled conditions.

People across ����ֱ�� and Bute are being urged to make sure they register to vote in next month’s UK Parliamentary Election, before the 26 November deadline. Voters in ����ֱ�� and Bute will join others from across the country on Thursday 12December to elect one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent the ����ֱ�� and Bute UK Parliamentary Constituency at Westminster. 

A £200,000 renovation of Inveraray’s Category A-listed Avenue Screen has been completed. Scaffolding, which was first erected at the site in January, has been removed and the finishing touches have been made to the work, which saw the Avenue Screen’s cement render removed and replaced with traditional lime render. Work was also carried out on the famous archway’s gates.

Councillors have approved a potential total grant of £847,507 for repairs to three tenement buildings in Dunoon’s town centre Conservation Area. Bute and Cowal Area Committee recently approved grants for repairs to properties on ����ֱ�� Street as part of the Dunoon Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS). The grants will help fund the comprehensive repair of the three large buildings, which are in significant need of repair. The work will safeguard these three prominent, historic properties and enhance the look and feel of Dunoon’s main shopping street.

A traditional shopfront in Rothesay will be brought back to its former glory thanks to a grant of more than £50,000. Councillors on the Bute and Cowal Area committee recently approved the release of £51,680 from the Rothesay Townscape Heritage fund to support the full-scale repair of the shopfront at 19a, 19b and 20b Argyle Street in the town. Additionally, committee members were updated on the award of £78,066 for shopfront work to be carried out on 69-71 Montague Street in Rothesay.

As we all prepare for the cold weather, the council has taken delivery of 17 new vehicles to join its fleet of winter maintenance vehicles that will treat 52% of our road network when dangerous conditions are forecast. To mark the arrival of the new vehicles, primary school children throughout ����ֱ�� and Bute have been invited to think up a name for one gritter in each of the four local administrative areas. The winners will see their chosen name on a plate on the side of the vehicle. The competition closed on 5 November.