Pontoons open by month’s end?

Public hearing to decide fate of Clock Lodge

Lochgilphead business owners have the opportunity to plead their case to prevent the Harbro development of the Clock Lodge from going ahead when a public hearing is held later this year.

At a meeting of Argyll and Bute Council’s planning committee on Wednesday, councillors agreed to defer a decision on the development until it had heard directly from the business people who fear the development will take business away from an already struggling Lochgilphead town centre.

The planning application, submitted by Harbro, would, if agreed, see a Harbro Country Store built in the grounds of Kilmory Clock Lodge, with a new access from the A83.

The store would give Harbro larger premises than its existing outlet at Kilmory Industrial Estate and include 200sqm of retail space and 300sqm for storage.

Harbro has agreed to make the derelict Clock Lodge wind and water tight at a cost of £226,000 before handing it over to the Lochgilphead Project, which hopes to transform the building into a community asset.

Planning officers at Argyll and Bute Council have recommended the application for approval

The Lochgair Association held a beach clean on the morning of Easter Saturday.

A total of 43 people, including children, took part, despite a rainy start, and the beach was cleaned from just south of the fish farm at Ardcastle to just north of Otter Ferry West, including all of Lochgair.

In the afternoon, in improving weather, more than 60 people enjoyed a barbecue, including an Easter egg treasure hunt for children.

The events were sponsored by Jewsons, The Argyll and Bute Trust, Forest Enterprise, Argyll and Bute Council and West Loch Fyne Community Council.

Work to repair the yacht pontoons at Tarbert has started.

The pontoons were closed indefinitely after an inspection and cleaning operation revealed

“unacceptable wear” on some of the mooring chains.

This caused concern in the village, as the pontoons were out of use over Easter weekend, but Tarbert Harbour Authority has this week released a statement explaining how the closure was dealt with and outlining the action being taken to restore the pontoons to regular use.

It said: “Advice by the harbour authority engineers that all vessels should be moved off the pontoons presented harbour staff with a massive logistical problem.

“All affected boat owners had to be contacted and alternative berthings arranged while repairs were carried out.

“The understanding and co-operation of everyone concerned was the key to success of