At Random
Delighted to see M&S coming
ISN’T it great news that Marks and Spencer is coming to Oban?
The high street giant unfathomably refuses to confirm that it is to open a food hall in what was the Lidl store in the Lochavullin retail park but it is officially now the world’s worst kept secret.
Demolition – or reconstruction, to be more accurate – has begun, local people have apparently been recruited to work in the new shop and we have seen the planning application on Argyll and Bute Council’s website.
M&S recently opened in Fort William and admitted it has been keen to add an Oban outlet to its portfolio.
The good people of Oban and its surrounding areas will no doubt welcome the news, which shows a considerable optimism for the future of the local economy.
Yes, we are already pretty well served with Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and other stores, but increased competition is generally a good thing and keeps them all on their toes.
If I have any concerns, it would be for the small, independent shops – our butchers, bakers and so on. They often operate to tight margins and I’d be very sorry to see any of them suffer.
However, many of us frequent the independents as much as possible, while also shopping at the bigger supermarkets.
What a load of rubbish in Oban
THERE is never any shortage of issues to get me hyperventilating in righteous anger.
The latest is the seemingly never-ending saga of the failing refuse collection system, particularly in the Oban area.
Those poor souls who live in Soroba have easily been the ones suffering the most since Argyll and Bute Council brought in its three-weekly system of waste collection.
It simply doesn’t work.
This system has now been in place for well over a year – in fact, since November 2016 – and has been the source of nothing other than anger, mess and problems for a cross-section of the population.
The council has made excuse after excuse for 14 months but still the misery goes on.
This week I walked past split open rubbish bags in the town centre – in Tweedale Street, to be precise – yet that is but a drop in the ocean compared to the mountains of rubbish in Soroba.
When is the council going to admit it got this wrong?
What a mess our roads are in
THE condition of many of our roads is a disgrace.
I make no apology for returning to this subject, having banged this particular drum on a number of occasions recently.
Despite numerous stories and an active campaign, the surfaces of many roads – even on the main arterial routes – have continued to deteriorate to the point where driving on them has become dangerous.
Cars are being damaged by the countless deep potholes and drivers are only narrowly avoiding collisions as they swerve across the carriageways to try to prevent thumping down into the craters.
But it is not just hazardous for motorists. We have had reports of pedestrians being hurt by flying chips of tarmac thrown up by passing vehicles.
I heard last week – though I cannot confirm it – that police were so worried about the state of the A85 main route through Connel on Thursday that they had issued an ultimatum to BEAR Scotland to fix it immediately or the road would be closed.
BEAR Scotland, to be fair, has a planned programme of repair work but this situation is awful and should never have been allowed to become this bad.
I trust the relevant authorities will act urgently to fix these roads.
What do you think?
WRITE to me at mlaing@obantimes.co.uk or The Oban Times, Crannog Lane, Oban, PA34 4 HB.