Argyll Transport Issues Survey

SKS Scotland have been commissioned to support this survey as the first step in seeking to identify a Way Forward for Transport in Argyll & Bute.

Transport, the issues, access and patchy provision are an issue across Argyll and this is your opportunity to compete a very short survey and let the group know what you think, and also how you use Transport.

Theyare seeking as many responses as possible from all communities and from all sectors so please do pass this on to anyone you feel would be interested.

Hard copies can be obtained from any Argyll & Bute Third Sector Interface Office if that is easier for you.

Please click the link below, it should take just a few minutes to complete.
: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ArgyllandButeTransport.

Tiree Community Council news

The Community Council met last week with about ten members of the public and Roddy McCuish, one of four Argyll and Bute Councillors that represent Tiree, who had made the trip out here.

The main topic of discussion was the library service on Tiree. The Council had announced last month during their latest round of cuts that all school librarians were losing their jobs. Tiree Community Council and the Tiree Parent Council had joined forces to fight this, penning an article for the Oban Times and talking to the Mull and Iona Library Action Group. I wrote a personal letter to all District Councillors, saying that we were ‘implacably opposed to this proposed cut’ and calling for talks. Out of thirty five Councillors, fifteen replied (we are still waiting to hear from our MP), nine of whom supported our position. One reply, however, stood out. It was from Rory Colville the lead Councillor for Education. He told us that the library was not closing after all, but was being kept open full-time as a community public library, run by a senior library assistant rather than a Chartered Librarian as present. Opening hours which included evening and Saturday opening for the general public had been suggested, and the facility would be open all year round and not just during term time. This would bring it into line with smaller, single-manned libraries on the mainland. Because of a new security review it was suggested that it might be difficult for members of the public to access the library during school hours. Having faced the complete loss of our library, we welcomed this development in principle, although a lot of work was still needed to get the best out of this service for all the community and the school.

The Community Council had also been involved in negotiations with Argyll and Bute over the future of the Customer Service Point in Crossapol, which, it had been proposed, would be passed over to either the Tiree Community Business or the Trust to run with reduced hours. After some haggling the Service Point will stay as a Council post with slightly reduced hours.  During the meeting a member of the public pointed out that that she had tried to go there that very day and the office had been closed because the staff member was on holiday and cover was no longer being provided. Roddy McCuish said this was ridiculous and he would take this closure up with Council officials.

A draft ferry timetable for next winter had been welcomed by the Tiree Transport Forum and is now on the website for comments. We also received a letter from Brendan Dick, a senior BT manager, saying the break in the fibre optic cable caused by a (non-island) fishing boat had been repaired and that he hoped the first Tiree customers would be connected to the faster broadband service in June. A member of the public said that her Vodafone signal had suddenly deteriorated following an engineer’s visit to the mast, and we will investigate this. We decided to respond to the Scottish Government’s consultation about Air Passenger Duty, even though it doesn’t apply to Tiree’s Twin Otter service. There has been mounting frustration over the failure by Argyll and Bute to deal with the abandoned trailers around the island, and Councillor McCuish said he knew which cages to rattle. Rosemary and I had attended some training on planning, where we had been encouraged, as a Community Council, to be more active.

Dr John Holliday, John MacCaskill, Alison Kennedy, Iona Campbell and Ian Gillies were present. Roddy said he would try to get more visits from the other three Argyll and Bute Councillors, or at the very least set up a monthly video conference with us. Councillors’ expenses had been slashed too in the latest budget, and the travel and overnight stay to Tiree ate into his allowance. Finally we thanked Alison Kennedy, who is leaving the island, for serving as our Secretary. It is a time-consuming job, and her ‘furious’ letters will be greatly missed! Do come along to our next meeting, look at our brilliant new website (thanks to Rhoda Meek), email, write or pester us on the street about any issues that are bugging you!

Should Tiree have its own flag?

Barra has one (green with a white Nordic cross). South Uist also has one (green with a white and blue Nordic cross). The Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Angus all have one. The Scottish saltire was everywhere during the independence referendum. But should Tiree get its own flag? When I go to Shetland, I am always struck by the number of houses that fly the Shetland flag. They send the message: we are proud of this part of the country, and we belong here. I wondered at the last Community Council meeting whether it was time to think about a Tiree flag again.

Designing a flag might look easy, but it’s tricky to find something new, something simple, and something beautiful. We would need a competition where designers here and all over the world could submit their thoughts, and then an island-wide vote to choose a favourite.

But first we need to decide if we want a flag at all! Some people love flags. Others think they are a waste of time and money. So Tiree Community Council is launching a consultation: let us know by the end of June what you think, yes or no. Write to the Community Council in Crossapol, post a vote in Bùth a’ Bhaile or the surgery, or go to our website and vote there. Have your say and take part in the Great Tiree Flag Vote!

Dr John Holliday

You can answer here, or at the survey link.

Create your own user feedback survey

Rural Open Sure Signal (ROSS)

18 months ago Tiree Community Council applied to be considered for the Rural Open Sure Signal (ROSS) project. It was designed to provide a 3G signal of limited reach in rural areas where a mobile signal can be hard to find. The Community Council’s application was successful and since then they have been liasing with Vodafone and ROSS to get the signal boosters installed.
A number of sites were planned in the early stages, but due to technical constraints and concerns about the suitability of phone cabling on Tiree, 3 sites were chosen. These were picked for their proximity to the exchange at Scarinish, and their lack of reliable mobile signal.
The sites are MacLennan Motors, Tiree Scarinish Hotel and the dental surgery.
Vodafone onfirmed that they have completed their installation works at MacLennan Motors and Tiree Scarinish Hotel. They are still waiting on BT to carry out their installation work at the dental surgery at Baugh but Vodafone have pre-installed their equipment so when BT complete their job the unit will go live. The ROSS system will allow a 3g signal within 500 metres of the equipment, and whilst these 3 units will not solve the issue with mobile signal on the island, the Community Council hopes that it will alleviate the problem in the areas chosen.

Tiree Trust asks for Survey responses

Last weekend, the Charrette process in Tiree came to an end with two days of discussions and workshops.

The community engagement event was hosted by The Trust and facilitated by Ironside Farrar. Lots of meaningful conversation was had about our future as an island community and the events were well attended by a wide range of community groups, businesses, external agencies and residents.

However, the work is not over yet! If you have not already done so, we are asking all residents, business owners, second home owners and non-residents (with a Tiree connection) to complete a survey. Online surveys are available on the following links. The Trust is particularly keen to hear from people who used to live on Tiree.

Individual Survey – https://goo.gl/ZYKREg

Business Survey – https://goo.gl/BTFRqm

Find out more at http://www.tireetrust.org.uk/second-weekend-of-community-engagement-workshops-complete/

Tiree fury at library cut

Tiree High School Parent Council and Tiree Community Council have issued a press release in response to the proposed cuts to the library service, which will result in the loss of library facilities in Tiree.

Tiree High School Parent Council, Tiree Community Council, and local residents of Tiree are furious over the Council cut to their library service, joining the community of Mull who are also up in arms about the proposal. Argyll and Bute Councillors decided, as part of their budget for next year, that Tiree, along with Mull and Iona, should lose their secondary school libraries. This decision has sent shock waves through the community, as the librarian on Tiree also serves the thriving primary school and the wider community.

Paul le Roux, Vice-Chair of the Tiree Parent Council told the Oban Times, “We are appalled by this short-sighted decision. The Scottish Government has made the improvement of literacy and numeracy a priority, yet Argyll and Bute want to take our only public access to books away from this island community by removing our librarian at a time when use of our library by the community and children is growing year by year.”

A Tiree resident, who has children at the school but asked not to be named, said, “Tiree High School library caters not only for the High School, but also for the island generally, including Bookbug for under 5s. This is a community that cannot head down the road to another public library – it is our only library. Buying books online is not a replacement for a public library service. Not only does it cost money, but on the one hand we are encouraging children to reduce their screen time, while taking away the opportunity to be able to offer them a good old-fashioned book in its place. Tiree will be losing our library while Argyll and Bute council reassures us that their hanging baskets will be protected – although I haven’t seen many of those on Tiree.”

Dr John Holliday, Convenor of Tiree Community Council, said, “The Community Council is outraged by this decision by Argyll and Bute, which is possibly in breach of their statutory obligations. If this cut goes ahead our nearest public library will be a four hour ferry ride and an overnight stay away. Our librarian, as part of our community school, provides a wonderful service for older members of the community, for many of whom their day out to the library is one of the high points of their week. It works both ways; the school pupils benefit from the books that the Library Service sends out to Tiree. The Council cuts have been described as ‘salami slicing’; this is throwing the whole sausage away.”

The two bodies are calling upon Argyll and Bute council to engage with the Tiree High School Parent Council and Tiree Community Council and to rethink their decision to deny their community this valuable resource.

A petition has already been set up to gather support for all libraries affected in Argyll and Bute. You can sign it here https://www.change.org/p/shout-out-for-school-librarians-in-argyll-and-bute

Please also consider liking the Mull and Iona libraries Action Group on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MullandIonaLibrariesActionGroup/