Oban chases share of £50m for town boost

Oban is hoping to get a good share of a new £50m town centre fund coming from the Scottish Government.

BID4Oban chief Executive Andrew Spence has already started discussions with council bosses and councillors about how the town could put to use any funding it gets for Argyll and Bute’s £1.2m share.

‘If you’re not fast, you’re last,’ he said.

Argyll and Bute will receive £1,242,000 from the pot to boost economic growth and help town centres become more diverse and sustainable.

Council leader Aileen Morton said Argyll and Bute will be ‘in a better position to determine how and where the money will be invested’ once it gets the funding criteria from the Scottish Government.

But BID4Oban is not wasting time. Mr Spence has contacted the council’s head of economic development and has been in touch with local councillors to convene a meeting to find out what Oban could use the money for.

‘It’s an opportunity for the area committee councillors to demonstrate what they can to do get the best possible deal out of this for Oban,’ he said.

And he added: ‘Oban is the busiest town in Argyll. It’s expanding rapidly and we need to invest more in the town centre. I think potentially we would be looking at bringing up to standard the likes of the top end of George Street and Argyll Square, which were never touched during the previous CHORD (Campbeltown, Helensburgh, Oban, Rothesay and Dunoon) regeneration project.’

The money could also be used to repurpose empty buildings for housing or social and community enterprises.

Councillor Morton said the new funding announcement is ‘great news for our local communities’.

‘The funding announcement will help us to achieve this aspiration, and will enable us to continue to build on the significant regeneration improvements that we have already carried out across Argyll and Bute with our partners,’ she said.

Speaking as he announced the launch of the fund last week, Economy Secretary Derek Mackay said: ‘Town centres are facing challenges across Scotland in adapting to a changing retail climate, and it is important that we help them to diversify and adjust to overcome these challenges.

‘I want to make sure we can keep life in our high streets, and ensure they continue to be thriving places for communities to live, work and enjoy.’

George Street benefited from CHORD cash in one of the last rounds of funding, and BID4Oban is now hoping more improvements can be made to the town centre.