Investment in digital connectivity

I am delighted Argyll and Bute Council will be investing nearly £6.8 million to help keep Argyll and Bute going and growing.

After relentless campaigning from myself and others, it’s great to see, at long last, some substantial investment in our crumbling infrastructure.

Building on investments made in previous years, an additional £2.613 million will be invested to drive forward improvements and repairs to Argyll and Bute roads, bringing the overall roads reconstruction budget to £10 million for 2021/22.

We are also investing more in active travel, in line with the council’s agreed priorities. This includes a further £500,000 in enhancing and improving footpaths. This investment complements the current allocation of £400,000 in green transport and travel.

This recent Covid pandemic has highlighted more than ever the need to tackle our urban-rural divide. Even now, many of my constituents

are paying premium prices for snail’s pace broadband speeds. That’s why £250,000 is being invested in a Tackling Digital Exclusion Top-Up Fund to support access to improved digital connections for social and commercial opportunities supporting communities and in some cases individuals that are missing out on national programmes due to logistics and economies of scale.

While this budget is not perfect and there will be challenges ahead as we start to recover from the ongoing global pandemic, this is a massive step in the correct direction.

Now my constituents across the Kintyre and the Islands ward will quite rightly want to see action, not more talking. So that means more help for our small businesses, improving our digital connectivity and substantial improvements to our roads which in so many areas are sadly approaching the point of no return.

Councillor Alastair Redman, Kintyre and the Islands ward.