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Ulva Primary School on the Isle of Mull has been awarded a gold award by the Woodland Trust for taking an active role in green activities on the island. The Trust’s Green Tree Schools initiative offers schools the opportunity to bring the great outdoors, wildlife and green issues into the classroom. To achieve this award, pupils planted new trees on the Isle of Ulva; created artwork using natural materials; visited local woods; and completed woodland workshops with Countryside Ranger Jan Dunlop.

����Ů�� and Bute’s four administrative areas are to benefit from a share of £444,000 of improvements, split equally, as part of the Scottish Government’s Town Centre Capital Fund 2020. The aim of the fund is to support economic recovery within town centres with a population of 1,000 plus by providing immediate opportunities to secure money into the local economy and to support town centre businesses and the local supply chain/contractors. At a meeting of the ����Ů�� today members agreed a potential list of capital projects in all fours areas.

“A permanent solution within the existing 2km corridor of the A83 is the only realistic solution to prevent ongoing disruption at the Rest and Be Thankful, and should be progressed as a priority.” ����Ů�� is calling on Scottish Government to take forward Option 1 following a consultation by Transport Scotland highlighting eleven options to address landslide issues at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful. Option 1 offers a permanent solution within a proposed 2km wide corridor along the existing A83. Councillor Robin Currie, Leader of ����Ů��:

Round three of ����Ů��’s Strategic Events and Festivals Fund opens for applications at midday on 22 October 2020.  Round three is open to events and festivals that are of strategic importance to the area and that will take place between April 2021 and March 2022.

Following consultation with local communities and stakeholders, in which 1500 people gave their views, projects have been agreed that will make it easier for people to move around town centres easily and safely. The plans have been made possible thanks to the Spaces for People programme - a £38M fund established by the Scottish Government and managed by Sustrans to enable safe physical distancing for people walking, wheeling and cycling.

Hermitage Park in Helensburgh joins the best parks and greens in Scotland after achieving Green Flag status from Keep Scotland Beautiful. The Green Flag Award is the benchmark for green spaces and recognises the hard work of managers, staff and volunteers who help ensure that outdoor areas provide locals with a safe, clean and inspiring local environment.

Campbeltown residents are invited to apply for a £25 voucher for individuals and a £50 voucher for families (households of more than one person) from the town’s GM Duncan bequest. When Major George Melville Duncan died in 1958, he bequeathed money to the then Campbeltown Town Council for the ‘benefit of the poor of the Burgh in the form of gifts, of fuel, clothing and foodstuffs during the winter months’. Andrew Greenlees set up a Trust on his death which provided for the poor of Campbeltown.

  The benefits of Dunoon Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) will soon be seen on Google Street View as the interior of some of the newly refurbished buildings will be available as 360 degree tours. Dunoon CARS has teamed up with a local Google Trusted Photographer to update Dunoon’s decade-old Google Street View shots.

����Ů�� and Bute’s council is asking for communities and businesses to give their ideas on the best way to promote a shop local messages in seven towns and Islay across the area. Community Links, which is working with the council to create new, bespoke and locally relevant poster campaigns, has set up a series of on-line meetings so that people can contribute their ideas to encourage people to shop local.

Budget planning will be on the agenda when the council’s Policy and Resources Committee meets next week. Councillors will consider reports that set out the scale of financial challenge, and work being done to prepare for the council setting its budget in February next year. Councillor Gary Mulvaney, Policy Lead for Financial Services said: