Everyone is welcome to attend the Community Council’s next meeting on Monday 14th April, 7.30pm at Glendaruel Village Hall.
The meeting will follow our standing agenda, with topical issues including Cowal Community Energy, Local Place Plan, Cruach Mhor Windfarm Trust and Harbour Order Consultation.
Do come along to hear more and share your view.
Interested in supporting local people and community projects? You could be a candidate for election as a Trustee of the Cruach Mhor Windfarm Trust, the grant-giving body for the Cruach Mhor Windfarm, sited above Glendaruel.
The Windfarm Trust is seeking to elect three Trustees for a 4-year term. If there are more than three candidates a community ballot will be held. The closing date for nominations is 4pm on Wednesday 23rd April 2025.
Visit cmwft.scot or email info@cmwft.scot for forms and information.
*Candidates must live in the ColGlen Community Council area, be 16 years or older on the closing date, and must not be an employee of either Argyll and Bute Council or ScottishPower Renewables.
On Friday morning, March 14th at 10am residents in Colglen are invited to take part in the Place Plan Proposal Creation discussion at the Colintraive Village Hall. This is the critical stage for the whole Local Place Plan process, so do come along to make your voice heard!
Freelance Contract for the position of
Secretary of the Community Council
£20 per hour / 50-70 hours per annum estimated.
The Community Council is seeking a secretary to work freelance on a flexible contract with between 50 and 70 hours per annum. With attention to detail, an understanding of local government and voluntary sector and a passion for our community the successful candidate will help the CC in its efforts to improve the life-chances
of all its residents.
As noted in our minutes in November, and elsewhere, our next meeting will be on March 10th at 7 pm with the express purpose of hosting Bute Community Council at the Colintraive Village Hall in a joint discussion on common issues, such as Calmac, a Fixed Link and other matters.
The Community Council has been contacted about several surveys which we list here:
The first is a survey on budgets and services from the Council. This is extremely important as they are looking for millions in savings. Help our community by insisting our lifelines are not cut, and that the council find different ways to balance their budgets. You have until 14th February:
https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/form/budget-survey
“With a budget gap of £27 million over the next five years, we do not have enough funding to meet demands. We’re asking you what services should council budgets prioritise?
“Over the past 10 years, we have delivered more than £50 million in savings to continue providing services to our communities. We continue to look for more savings but the size of the budget gap means we face having to deliver further savings in the years ahead.”
In the three years to 2019 the c ommunity, through “Kyles Community Broadband” attempted to procure fibre optic broadband for the community. With a budget of £1.5M promised KCB got as far as the competitive tender, but were stymied by a combination of budget and capacity of the organisations tendering. At that point the Scottish Government promised to make our area a priority after the ten areas already allocated official priority status. Over the intervening years, despite a six-monthly reminder from the CC, nothing has happened, or has been intimated to happen. Therefore this survey is very important and we encourage everyone to answer it. Here’s what the SG say about it:
“The Scottish Government is investing in broadband infrastructure in Your area through its Reaching 100% (R100) programme and we’re keen to get your support to help gather feedback.
“The £600+ million programme is extending access to faster broadband to sub-30 Megabits per second homes and businesses who are unlikely to receive upgrades through commercial plans. You can find out more about R100 at: gov.scot/digitalconnectivity.
“To understand whether and how households and organisations have benefited from R100, the Scottish Government is undertaking an evaluation of the programme. As part of this, we are surveying households and organisations who:
“The surveys are available online and can be accessed at https://tinyurl.com/R100Evaluation“
“People in council areas across Scotland are considering a visitor levy for their area and we would like you to have the same chance to consider one for Argyll and Bute.
“Why? Because at a time when funding for public services is shrinking, a visitor levy is an option for raising investment to sustain local services used by visitors, as well as residents, and to keep the area as a top visitor attraction.
“Support for individual tourism businesses, or for extending the tourism season are examples of how levy income could be used. Services used by the visitor economy, and so could benefit from levy funding, include for example, waste, roads, transport and leisure services.
“We are running a 12-week consultation and invite you to take the time to find out more about what a levy could mean for Argyll and Bute, and then give your view.”
You can find more information on the council website, plus:
In partnership with ABCAN and as part of the development of our Local Place Plan, the Community Council and the Development Trust present an evening focussed on the River Ruel and the work of the River Improvement Association, centred around the feature film Riverwoods
Three years in the making, the featurelength Riverwoods film, produced by Riverwoods partner Scotland: The Big Picture and narrated by Peter Capaldi, shines a light on the perilous state of Scotland’s salmon, and tells the compelling story of a fish that once lived in the forest. And in the soil that feeds the forest. And in the predators, scavengers and even herbivores of the forest. Scotland’s Atlantic salmon – the King of Fish – is not only the ultimate angler’s prize, but a key building block in a complex forest ecosystem.
Doors open 17:45hrs, January 17th, Colintraive Village Hall
The community council would like to invite everyone in the community to give us your views on our place and how it can be improved to contribute to our Local Place Plan through this very Short SURVEY.
A Local Place Plan (LPP) is a community-led plan that outlines a community’s vision for the development and use of land in their area:
Across the Loch Episode 8 with Kirsty McLuckie & Mike Russell just published.
Kirsty and Michael introduce the eighth edition of the local podcast for Colintraive and Glendaruel in Argyll , Scotland which has been running now for a full year. This episode includes an interview with local resident and community activist Rosalyn McKenna who is working , in her day job, on improving access to the Argyll Collection, a unique cultural resource intended for the young people of the area which owes it existence to two visionaries, the remarkable wrier Naomi Mitchison and Argyll art adviser Jim Tyre . In a new history feature Michael explores the national contribution of the distinguished and influential Maclaurin family which had Glendaruel roots whistle the two presenters muse on Christmas food, the prospects of a cold winter and the possibility of a tourist tax for Argyll & Bute whilst also giving a rundown of the various events and celebrations in ColGlen this December.
Email Kirsty & Michael at acrosstheloch@gmail.com with comments and suggestion for this local ColGlen Podcast
The UK’s telephone network is changing.
Between now and January 2027 most telephone providers will be moving their customers from old analogue landlines over to new upgraded landline services using digital technology. This means services that rely on the old landline system such as home phones, telecare and health devices will need to be compatible.
Here is a good summary page from Argyll and Bute Council
Below are two documents which should provide all the information you need, but if you have problems accessing it, or have concerns do let the community council know.
