Face-saving explanation after confusion over social media blog

MEMBERS of Oban community council were upset on Monday night when they thought plans to spend more than £6.9 million were being revealed on Facebook, rather than through the community council - a statutory consultee.

They believed consultant, Helen Ford, whose company was paid more than £ 80,000 in 2014 by Argyll and Bute council, had heralded plans for the town centre on the social media site.

Her Facebook blog post, which was read out at the community council, said she was ‘pleased to advise’ that her former school friend had been appointed to the post of Oban CHORD project manager.

Mrs Ford, who is a sole-trader and has been with the council for more than three years, said on Facebook: ‘I am pleased to advise you that Kirsteen Macdonald is the new Oban CHORD Project Manager with responsibility for delivering the North Pier Maritime Quarter, with Andrew Collins leading on the delivery of the Oban CHORD public realm works.’

The blog post continued: ‘Bit of a blast from school days past to speak to Kirsteen and fantastic news that it is actually an Argyll local who’s been appointed...in my humble opinion.’

Community council chairwoman Marri Malloy said: ‘There was a long update from Helen Ford on Facebook, and it would have been nice for her to come to the community council first. We are the ones who have been elected.

‘The former CHORD manager would come to the community council every time and update us.

‘I wish she had come and talked to us before using Facebook.’

Community councillor, Andy Harper, said: ‘ Facebook is a poor point of contact.’

Veteran councillor Duncan MacIntyre added: ‘It is clear that the workers want to communicate with the community.

‘I think it is time people stopped taking things from Facebook. Let’s get the community council up and running with this and I would suggest you get Helen Ford and Fergus Murray to come to this meeting.’

Oban and Islands councillor Mary-Jean Devon added: ‘We cannot answer why it appeared on Facebook and why no- one had notified the community council. But we must get the information out to the community council.’

Oban area council chairman Roddy McCuish agreed, and said: ‘ We should get information from a reliable source and not from Facebook.’

However, an Argyll and Bute council spokesman said it had been a misunderstanding and the comments attributed to Helen Ford, were not actually made by her.

He said: ‘This is not true. What appears to have happened here is that a response was given in good faith to a query by a member of the public and this was subsequently related on Facebook by them.’