Councillor’s column
ALASTAIR REDMAN - KINTYRE AND THE ISLANDS
I am proud to back our farmers and fishermen unlike the council new administration.
At the full Argyll and Bute Council meeting on Thursday April 25, I put forward a motion asking that the contribution of farmers, crofters, growers and fishermen be recognised by the authority.
However, it seems this new SNP/Lib-Dem/Green Party council administration coalition has proved that their priorities are all wrong.
They put an amendment to my motion that supported farmers, crofters and fishermen that took away any mention of meat, dairy and arable produce.
It also bizarrely prioritised the importance of not using the term fishermen and instead used the term “fishers”.
The amendment was seconded by Councillor Dougie McFadzean and was also voted for by Councillor Robin Currie.
Why this new administration and my fellow ward two councillors were so shy about mentioning our dairy, arable and livestock farmers in their amendment is beyond me.
A huge thanks to Councillor Liz McCabe who seconded my motion and to all the councillors who voted for the motion.
There was one voice of reason from the new administration, Councillor William Sinclair voted for my motion and broke ranks with his new coalition partners on this matter.
They are one full council meeting in and already they are voting different ways. As your local councillor I will not stop fighting for our farmers, crofters and fishermen.
Clachan cemetery sign
I have been in regular contact with our roads department about getting a sign put up on roadside pointing to Clachan new cemetery.
The council has informed myself that, “the network and standards team have no issue with the sign being erected, however, we are still awaiting comment from the operations team leader. The operations team are the signage budget holder and the budget is limited, however, we will try and get a firm answer from him next week for you”.
I will keep pressing for this missing sign and others to be replaced as soon as possible.
CalMac £18.5m online booking service error
During a personal meeting with Stewart Maxwell, director of public affairs of CalMac Ferries Ltd, I raised the worrying issue of SMS text message updates being send to wrong numbers in many causes on numerous occasions. Customer information has been sent to some people who haven’t used a ferry in years
On January 27 2024 CalMac were made aware that 913 customers had been sent a text message in error about the cancellation of the 2.50am freight sailing from Ullapool to Stornoway.
On March 7 2024 some customers had received a text message in error about disruption to our services from Troon to Brodick. On this occasion 61 customers were affected.
On April 4 2024 CalMac received several calls from customers who had received text messages in error about disruption to services on the Oban to Castlebay route. This impacted 360 customers.
CalMac claims that investigation of these incidents found no evidence of system error so it believes the causes were process and user errors.
I remain very unhappy with CalMac over this mess. So many people have been affected. I don’t believe that CalMac is providing adequate reassurance or show sufficient sympathy.
These kind of errors with our taxpayer-funded £18m new system are simply unacceptable.
Better bridge repairs needed
After myself and others raised safety concerns about the Port Charlotte bridge, some measures have been take and repairs of a fashion have been made.
While these crude, rudimentary repairs have made the bridge in Port Charlotte somewhat safer, they look ugly and residents still need some proper long-term repairs done.
I will keep lobbying the roads department for a long-term fix to this damage.
Crisscrossing every corner of the ward
I have been out and about all over the Kintyre and the Islands ward catching up with my constituents, looking at infrastructure conditions and discussing conditions of local social housing stock.
As in many other areas of Argyll and Bute, I have been receiving numerous justifiable complaints about littering in our ward with sadly little consequences for the very small minority of litter bugs.
Potholes on ward two roads and crumbling pavements are a subject I have brought up with the council’s roads department many times and I will keep lobbying for more investment in our local infrastructure at every opportunity.
I have also been asked to look into the conditions of many street lights in some of our villages and there are huge concerns about the state of many of our cemeteries such as Kilnaughton Cemetery.
I will be working hard on all of these pressing matters and many more to be addressed as soon as possible.
Like I have said on many occasions, it is important to have a councillor who works hard for their local area all year round and not just in press releases and round about election time.