Vote calls council harbours to account

Conservative councillors Andrew Vennard and Maurice Corry want the council to show annual income and spending from its eight statutory harbour authorities.

These are Campbeltown, Carradale and Rothesay Harbours, Craignure Pier, Dunoon Pier, Port Askaig Pier, and Oban’s North Pier, plus the proposed Oban Municial Harbour, currently the subject of a draft Harbour Revision Order (HRO).

A group of mariners who use Oban Bay, Oban Community Harbour Development Association (OCHDA), said: "One of the most frequent objections to the 2023 draft Oban HRO related to the council’s proposals over publishing of accounts.

"Despite the number of objections, the council does not, currently, propose to change the wording of the draft HRO in order to comply with the Harbours Act (1964) by making clear that they will publish full annual accounts for Oban harbour.

"At the next Harbour Board, a motion will be considered which says exactly that, starting from the current financial year and applying to all Argyll and Bute Council harbours. In addition a second part of the motion requires that a plan for non-financial reporting should be brought forward to the Harbour Board next year.

"This is a significant step towards ensuring that the Harbour Board is properly informed regarding the performance of Argyll and Bute Council’s harbours."