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Keeping people safe during the cold, dark winter nights and mornings starts with preparation in early autumn and a budget of more than £2.2m. Members of the Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee, on Thursday 2 September, approved the 2021-22 Winter Service Policy, which prioritises how ����ֱ�� and Bute’s roads will be treated ahead of winter hazards. These winter stand-by arrangements operate from Friday 29 October 2021 until Friday 15 April 2022.

The £10m investment in ����ֱ�� and Bute’s roads for 2021/22 is on track to see 229 km of road improved, just over 10% of the road network, by the end of the financial year. On top of that, the council has secured a further £1.249m, through the Scottish Timber Transport Scheme, towards repairing roads used to haul forestry timber. And further investment of £900,000, which includes £400,000 of funding for green transport and travel, will be used to improve footways throughout ����ֱ�� and Bute.

Issued by icecream architecture Back in May of 2021, the public were asked to take part in a survey to help a team of designers identify a new and improved walking, cycling and wheeling route from Helensburgh to Garelochhead. The team has now collated the responses and used these to inform the initial design proposals. Now the public can visit helensburgh-garelochhead.info to find out more; view the designs; and submit comments and questions.

  Visitors to Bute will soon be able to send digital postcards across the world to help promote the island and attract more people to the area.    A new bespoke sculptural welcome sign is to be located in the winter gardens with visitors encouraged to share the Bute welcome to the rest of the world.

Kintyre residents can look out for new blue recycling bins arriving in September, in preparation for a new bin collection service starting in October. The new service is designed to make it more convenient for people in Kintyre to recycle their domestic waste. It means that the majority of Kintyre residents will receive the same recycling service as the rest of mainland ����ֱ�� and Bute. Councillor Rory Colville, Policy Lead for Roads and Infrastructure Services, said:

Helensburgh’s state-of-the art leisure centre is on track to open in 2022, despite the construction challenges brought by the global pandemic. One year after construction began, the main building is structurally complete, with the external Lomond stone blockwork and glazing installed, there are new flood defences for the town and landscaping is well underway. When it’s complete the council’s £22 million development will provide residents and visitors with new swimming and studio pools, and a gym and café with stunning views of the Clyde.

Help is available for people across ����ֱ�� and Bute who are struggling to access food and heat their homes. The Flexible Food Fund has helped 550 households access £760,000 of benefit income fuel debt relief since January 2021, with an average financial gain of £1,385 per household. Funded by the Scottish Government, the project allows the Council’s benefit team to work with third sector partners including Bute Advice Centre, ALIenergy and foodbanks, to support people who are struggling for money to cover food and fuel costs.

Businesses who continue to face challenges from the impact of Covid will benefit from a new Hardship Fund. Online applications open at 10am on 9 September 2021 and will close on Wednesday 15 September 2021 with funds allocated on a first come, first served basis. Prepare to applyThe fund is open to businesses facing financial challenges in 2021-22, due to the impact of Covid on the business in 2020-21.

Great things are happening in ����ֱ��’s education service. At a meeting of the Community Services Committee today, members were presented with the Annual Performance Review which shows positive progress across many areas of the service. For example:

Issued by NHS Highland  As confirmed cases of COVID rise across the NHS Highland area, local schools, which saw pupils returning last week after the summer holidays, have begun to feel the impact.   From 16 – 22 August, NHS Highland saw over 1000 cases which represents almost 10% of our total case count for the whole pandemic in a single week. This increase is expected to continue and we are already seeing a large number of outbreaks in Highland schools with around 60 schools affected so far.