I mentioned last week that I was out and about with the Permanent Secretary of the Scottish Government, Joe Griffin. As I wrote last week’s update I was heading to Luing. Here we were able to show Joe some of the great community projects on the island and give him a little taste of what living and working in Argyll and Bute is like.
The community on Luing are working to reopen a slate quarry on the island supported by the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF). There is little or no Scottish slate available to restore heritage buildings anymore so this would provide a much sought after product and provide income for the island. The spoil from the quarry will be used to restore coastal defences, helping to safeguard Cullipool village from the erosion it’s experiencing. There are plans for community owned homes, energy generation and a community garden is in development. All helping to make the island more vibrant and resilient.
If all of that was good enough, the sun shone, we saw otters, herons and dolphins and crossed to the island on the MV Behnahua, one of the oldest ferries in Scotland.
These are just snippets of the great work that is happening all over our area and the fantastic communities that make up Argyll and Bute, but it did provide a real taste of the different approach that needs to be taken here. That’s the benefit of being able to take civil servants, who work in Edinburgh or Glasgow to see what makes their policy decisions work for us.
Today I’m finishing the week in a very different but equally good way. We have our Senior Leadership Forum, bringing together managers from all our services to talk about things from budget to climate change. I’m looking forward to some lively discussions.
Have a lovely weekend.
Pippa
Pippa Milne
Chief Executive
