Councillor's Column - Dougie McFadzean, January 10 2025
Happy New Year to every one of you and I truly hope you managed to get some time with your loved ones over the festive period.
I’d like to thank our emergency workers, key workers, retail staff and everyone else who kept us safe, fed, warm and looked after over the holidays.
There are so many people in our society who had to work during the festive period, to keep things moving, and I hope now that the ‘mayhem’ is over you all get a chance to have a break.
Since I last wrote I have been helping lots of constituents with issues such as housing needs, living conditions, the cost of living, dreaded potholes, social needs, loneliness, legal difficulties and many other issues besides.
In addition, I have been advocating for our damaged bridges and other infrastructure, which was damaged during the recent high winds and heavy rainfall.
Some of our communities have been severely affected by this event, whereby bridges have been undermined, resulting in closure of roads and weight limits. The work is ongoing to repair these facilities to allow free movement of people and goods.
I visited Gigha with Councillor Anne Horn, where we met with residents to discuss concerns regarding access to their cemetery, the condition of the road and pier and some safety concerns.
We were very well looked after by members of Gigha Community Council, and I’d like to thank them for taking the time to spend several hours with us. The visit was extremely worthwhile, and the sun shone on beautiful Gigha (I’m sure it always does!). We even had a coffee outside!
2025 is going to be a challenging year for Argyll and Bute Council, with several very important decisions to be made.
On December 20 2024 a special meeting of the full council took place where the issue of the visitor levy consultation was discussed at length.
This discussion resulted in a vote where the council decided to launch a formal 12-week (minimum) public consultation.
The consultation will be launched soon, and councillors pressed the council officers to ensure the consultation will be very wide reaching and will allow residents, businesses and visitors ample opportunity to feed in their thoughts.
It’s only by listening to your opinions that we can make an informed decision on whether to go ahead with the levy. Nothing has been decided yet.
We’ll also need to set the council tax rates for the next financial year, another challenging decision. Some additional funding was allocated to the Council by the Scottish Government, which is very welcome.
This may help take the pressure off a bit when setting the tax, but the financial position for the council is still very challenging for the coming years.
We also discussed a proposal to look at introducing 20MPH speed limits in built up areas, including our remote villages, and agreed that this work should move forward.
It’s at a very early stage just now, so watch this space. Here we have an opportunity to make our residential areas safer by slowing traffic down and I would fully support us looking into this in detail, with the support of Police Scotland and our other partners.
On a brighter note - being on the board of ALIenergy, I attended the most recent board meeting in Oban where I heard about the amazing work it has been doing over the past year. It can help with fuel poverty and advice on home insulation, and I would encourage anyone wanting free help from them to contact them at enquiries@alienergy.org.uk or 01631565183.
I can also refer if you would rather get in touch with me.
So, have a great 2025 and keep reminding one another that we live in one of the most beautiful areas of Scotland, and are lucky to call Argyll and Bute ‘home’.
Latest News
JOBS
Childcare and Education Worker - ARB15733 - Argyll and Bute Council
Sign up to our daily Newsletter
Permission Statement
Yes! I would like to be sent emails from West Coast Today
I understand that my personal information will not be shared with any third parties, and will only be used to provide me with useful targeted articles as indicated.
I'm also aware that I can un-subscribe at any point either from each email notification or on My Account screen.
You may also like
Latest News
JOBS
Childcare and Education Worker - ARB15733 - Argyll and Bute Council
Sign up to our daily Newsletters
Permission Statement
Yes! I would like to be sent emails from West Coast Today
I understand that my personal information will not be shared with any third parties, and will only be used to provide me with useful targeted articles as indicated.
I'm also aware that I can un-subscribe at any point either from each email notification or on My Account screen.
© 2025 Wyvex Media Limited.