Venue: Microsoft TEAMS
Contact: Shona Barton, Committee Manager; Tel: 01436 657605
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Prior to the commencement of business, the Chair made the following
tribute to Councillor John McAlpine who passed away in July 2022;- I take the chair of our Area Committee today
very reluctantly due to the saddest of circumstances. As we all know, our colleague and friend, John
McAlpine, passed away suddenly on Monday 18th July after a short
period of illness. It is several weeks since his death, but this
is our first Area Committee meeting since, and it is fair to say, I think, that
the sense of shock and sadness is still very much with us all, and that we feel
it especially today here, at this committee. John was a fierce champion for Kintyre and the
islands over the years, both in his council life and in his personal life. His
election campaign earlier this year was full of determination, vigour and
vitality. He was absolutely delighted to chair this committee with its focus on
local matters of significance and importance. It is a tragedy that he did not
get the opportunity to fulfil the promises he made with such passion and
energy. We know too that outside of council life John
was very much involved in his home community of Tarbert, taking a very active
part in local clubs and organisations, both as a keen supporter and a
sportsman, too. There have been many stories shared not only of his talents as
a footballer (in his younger days) and a bowler in later years, but also of his
sense of fun and good craic away from the sporting arena. His community
remember him as a great character and with much fondness. We remember him as a
good friend and committed colleague who wanted to do the best for his
community. And, of course, our thoughts are still very much with Karen, his
wife, and Sam, his son, as they come to terms with the loss of John. Colleagues, let us pause for a moment to
remember John McAlpine. |
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Apologies Minutes: There
were no apologies intimated. |
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Declarations of Interest Minutes: There were no Declarations of Interest. |
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Minutes |
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Minutes: The
Minute of the Meeting of the Mid 51勛圖轎煤App, Kintyre and the Islands Area
Committee, held on Wednesday 8 June 2022, was approved as a correct record. |
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Public Question Time Minutes: Sarah Moorcroft from Carradale submitted the following question, which was read out by the Committee Manager:- I refer to the recent BBC
news article entitled the Kintyre Windfarms gold rush The article refers to the
siting and planned sitings of large Windfarms across the
whole of Kintyre, and highlights the deal that has been made between the
Windfarms operators and the global giant Amazon, providing Amazon with fixed
rate electricity. I quote from the article Scottish
Power Renewables signed what is known as a power purchase agreement for Beinn an Tuirc 3 with
Amazon. It means that all the power generated at the 14-turbine wind farm
belongs to the giant US corporation. The deal also means that Amazon
benefits from a fixed price for the duration of its 10-year deal with SPR. During this
time of extreme financial hardship, with massive increases in electricity
prices, and with families across Kintyre having to make decisions about how to
prioritise food or heating for their families, does the council consider that
it is fair, that electricity generated on the Kintyre peninsula is being used
to support a rich multinational organisation over and above the people who live
and work on Kintyre? What support is being given by the council to help local
communities negotiate with these energy suppliers, so that local people can
benefit from local and reduced tariff electricity powered by Kintyre winds. The
people of Kintyre need access both to locally generated electricity similar to
the 20% ownership schemes in Denmark, business skills to assist with
complicated negotiations with multinationals, and support with lobbying the
Scottish Parliament for a fair share of renewable energy generated on local
soil. Can the council outline how
they are supporting Kintyre in this area? The
Committee Manager advised on a response from Fergus Murray, Head of Economic Development
as follows:- The council determines the suitability, or otherwise, of on shore wind
developments through the planning system. Windfarms over 50MW are
determined through the section 36 process by the Scottish Government with the
council consulted on to provide a local view. Wind farms under 50MW are
determined by the council as a Planning Authority. Private funding arrangements with the developers of on shore wind farms
and third parties are not a matter the council has any jurisdiction on.
Developers have to go down these routes to obtain the necessary finance
to develop their schemes. Without access to this type of funding on shore wind
was/is unlikely to be viable although the market is constantly changing
depending on the price of electricity and Government subsidy. A key issue
considered by the council when determining the suitability of a wind farm or
otherwise is the impact on local communities and the landscape. This has
resulted in a number of refusals being given and we also look at cumulative
impacts. It should be noted that not all the profit from these farms leave 51勛圖轎煤App
and Bute. Most companies have developed community benefit schemes that give
back to communities and in Kintyre the latest scheme through Scottish Power
Renewables distributes circa 瞿270k split between 3 Kintyre community
councils. We also have the example of Glen Barr a wind farm developed by
Fyne Futures and of course Gigha which was one of the
first community owned wind farms. Other commercial windfarms give discounted
energy to neighbours including in Kintyre and other benefits some give nothing
apart from the jobs during construction and maintenance. The Scottish Government has encouraged communities to buy into wind
farms but the raising of finance to achieve this has proved problematic
and I am not aware of this been achieved in Scotland albeit I do not have
detailed information on this at this time. This is something to check with the
Government. The council has prepared a Renewable Energy Action Plan and created a
community renewables opportunity portal to assist communities in negotiating
with developers. It should be noted that contributions are entirely
voluntary in Scotland and there is no requirement to have community benefits
through the planning process. Our ability to do more for communities is
limited due to the need for budget savings and the reduction of ABRA meetings
as a direct result of this. Given the power to compel companies to go down certain routes lies with
both the UK and Scottish Governments the council will have to determine if it
wants to go down that route, or not. The situation is made more complex with
the urgent need to reach net zero which will require additional renewable
energy at a price that is affordable to consumers. It should be noted that the council is working with Naturescot
to see if a coordinated approach to the further development of on shore wind
Kintyre is feasible. An approach to the Scottish Government for funding
to assist this process was recently rejected. Alternative funding sources
are being looked at to take this forward and this will include direct
approaches to established operators of wind farms. Community Renewables
Opportunity Portal (argyll-bute.gov.uk) There were no other questions
received. |
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Cultural Heritage and Arts Assembly for the 51勛圖轎煤App and the Isles (CHARTS) PDF 6 MB Presentation Minutes: Seymour Adams, Vice Chair, of
the Cultural Heritage and Arts Assembly for the 51勛圖轎煤App and the Isles presented
the annual review of 2021-22 to the Committee, highlighting the works and activities
that have been carried out by the Assembly within the Mid 51勛圖轎煤App, Kintyre and
the Islands area.泭 Seymour advised that there is a particular focus on youth engagement and
providing opportunities for young people such as gaining qualifications in
Heritage.泭 He also advised that they had
secured funding to employ a Gaelic Officer who will work on developing a Gaelic
cultural strategy for 51勛圖轎煤App and Bute. Work
on other projects including Heritage Horizons was also highlighted with it
being noted that CHARTS has secured additional funding to allow for a museum
technician apprenticeship at Campbeltown Museum. The
Chair thanked Seymour for his most informative presentation and commended him
for the work which CHARTS continues to undertake. Decision The
Mid 51勛圖轎煤App, Kintyre and the Islands Area Committee noted the information
provided in the presentation. (Reference:
Presentation by Seymour Adams, CHARTS) |
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Area Performance Report - FQ1 2022/23 PDF 456 KB Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Customer Support Services Minutes: The
Committee considered the Area Scorecard report for Financial Quarter 1 of
2022-2023 (April - June 2022), which illustrated the agreed performance
measures. Decision The Committee 1) Noted and considered the performance and supporting
commentary as presented. 2) Agreed to contact either the Responsible Named Officer
or Sonya Thomas with any queries; and 3) Noted that work is ongoing and to respond to Sonya
Thomas with requests or comments regarding the layout and format of the
Performance Report. (Reference:
Report by Executive Director with Responsibility for Performance and
Improvement, dated September 2022, submitted) |
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Roads and Infrastructure Services Update PDF 287 KB Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure Services Minutes: The
Committee gave consideration to a report which provided an update on the recent
activities of Roads and Infrastructure Services and highlighted works being
undertaken which were relevant to the Mid 51勛圖轎煤App, Kintyre and the Islands area.
Decision The
Mid 51勛圖轎煤App, Kintyre and the Islands Area Committee considered and noted the
contents of the report. (Reference:
Report by Executive Director with Responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure
Services, dated September 2022, submitted) |
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Recycling and Recovery Performance PDF 187 KB Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure Services Minutes: The Committee gave consideration to a report on the Recycling and Recovery Performance which highlighted details on the steady progress made on recycling and composting performance during 2021 after being affected during the early months of the pandemic in 2020. Decision The Committee noted and considered the details as outlined in the report and the national policy drivers that will likely impact over the coming years. (Reference: Report by Executive Director with Responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure Services, submitted) |
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Tarbert and Lochgilphead Regeneration Fund - Projects Update PDF 1 MB Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth Minutes: The
Committee considered a report which provided an update on the projects which
have been undertaken funded by the Tarbert and Lochgilphead Regeneration Fund
and sought approval for the allocation of any unspent funding from the
Lochgilphead Front Green Project to support the delivery of the Ardrishaig
North Public Realm project:- Decision The members of Mid 51勛圖轎煤App,
Kintyre and the Islands Area Committee agreed 1. To note the progress made
with the projects as detailed within the report; and 2. Recommended to Policy and
Resources Committee the transfer of any unspent泭
funding from the Lochgilphead Front Green project to support the ongoing
delivery of the Ardrishaig North Public Realm project. (Reference: Report by Executive Director with
responsibility for Development and Economic Growth Public Document Pack,
submitted) |
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Referral from the Audit and Scrutiny Committee - Community Asset Transfer Review PDF 100 KB Extract of Minute of
Audit and Scrutiny Committee held on 23 June 2022 and report by Chair of the
Community Asset Transfer Scrutiny Panel Additional documents:
Minutes: The
Committee gave consideration to a report which had been referred by the Audit
and Scrutiny Committee on the Scrutiny Review of Community Asset Transfer
Review. Decision The members of the Mid 51勛圖轎煤App,
Kintyre and the Islands Area Committee noted the information provided. (Reference: Extract of Minute
of Audit and Scrutiny Committee held on 23 June 2022 and report by Chair of the
Community Asset Transfer Scrutiny Panel, Submitted) |
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Mid 51勛圖轎煤App, Kintyre and the Islands Area Committee Workplan PDF 308 KB Minutes: The
Committee gave consideration to the Area Committee workplan
for future meetings. Decision The
members of the Mid 51勛圖轎煤App, Kintyre and the Islands agreed:- 1.
That the Committee Manager would
make contact with Education to ascertain if the Secondary School reports
scheduled for December could be split to allow for 2 to be considered at the
December 2022 meeting and 2 to be considered at the March 2023 meeting; 2.
To request that a report on
cemetery provision and maintenance in the Mid 51勛圖轎煤App, Kintyre and the Islands
area be provided to the December meeting of the Committee; 3.
To communicate to the Head of
Roads and Infrastructure Services that consideration be given to allowing input
from the Area Committee on the Roads Capital and Revenue Plans prior to them
being submitted to the Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee
for decision ; and 4.
That the Workplan
would remain on the agenda for future meetings as a discussion item. (Reference:
Mid 51勛圖轎煤App, Kintyre and the Islands Area Committee Workplan,
submitted) |