Gaelic projects secure funding

Five Gaelic projects have successfully bid for funding to strengthen and grow Gaelic in Argyll and Bute.

The funding was allocated using an online voting system and 889 people cast their vote and chose how £15,000 should be spent in Argyll and Bute.

Some 14 projects applied for the funding – secured from the Scottish Government – and five gained the most public votes and have been successful in their bids: Dalriada Gaelic immersion weekend at Auchindrain township, support for school libraries, Oban Mod Academy, Air Ghleus – promotion of Gaelic language, music and culture and a feasibility study for a standalone Gaelic school in Oban.

Cleland Sneddon, the council’s chief executive, said: ‘We have tested participatory budgeting as a new way of putting funding to best use in our communities and received significant interest from the public.

‘We thank everyone for taking part and will take the learning from this process to see where it can be applied in future.’