Campbeltown Community Council
Minutes of Meeting 13th January 2026
7.30pm in Campbeltown Town Hall
Present
V Nimmo (chair), C Dobbie, E Glendinning, C McCulloch, D Allen, J McCallum, A McMillan, J Martin
In attendance
Cllr J Kean, Argyll and Bute Council
Cllr J Armour, Argyll and Bute Council
PC C Shaw
S Macintyre, MOWI
D Hunter, MOWI
S Harvey, MOWI
A Stewart, prospective CCC member
P Crook, proposed secretary
- Welcome
V Nimmo welcomed everyone to this, the first meeting of 2026.
- Appointment of secretary
V Nimmo introduced Phil Crook who had expressed an interest in joining the CCC and taking on the role of secretary, subject to the agreement of CCC members. This was approved and P Crook duly joined the CCC.
- Declarations of interest
V Nimmo reminded members to declare any interest they had in an agenda item as it was reached.
- Apologies
Apologies were received from A Gallacher (treasurer), A Baker and E Grabowska.
- Update on progress with Sanda fish farm
The team from MOWI explained the current situation and handed round a development update leaflet (copies are available in Keeping it Local). During 2025 they conducted breeding and non-breeding surveys of key bird species; conducted a baseline survey of marine habitats including the seabed; published SEPA screening modelling and a risk identification report; and submitted a scoping report to Argyll and Bute Council. In October they started an environmental impact assessment which is due to be completed in March 2026 with the aim to submit regulatory applications with a few months after that.
Community and stakeholder feedback is welcomed on the Scoping Report and the SEPA Pre-application Report. Public engagement events are planned for Southend and Campbeltown – details to follow.
On February 5th they are holding an aquaculture day for local schools – one idea is to develop an NPA in aquaculture.
The committee are very interested in the proposals and generally supportive. During the discussion which followed, a number of points can be noted:
- The base for the operations is likely to be Dunaverty, although this is not yet decided. Southend Community Council is a key partner. MOWI are looking at setting up a community liaison group.
- Public access to Sanda is an important part of the proposal. MOWI have already upgraded access to the island, the sewage and water treatment plants, and made the doors and windows of the island properties weatherproof. They would like to improve the jetty itself.
- They have experience of being involved in tourism on other islands, for example Colonsay, Rum and Muck.
- MOWI and Nature Scotland have already started culling the deer which were introduced by a previous owner and numbered over 200. The aim is to get the number down to around 50.
- If the applications are successful, they would hope to start using the fish pens in 2027 which is when the Carradale fish nursery will be next stocked. However, they may well anchor some empty pens much earlier, to collect more data on currents, etc.
V Nimmo thanked the MOWI team for a useful update.
- Review of minutes
Cllr Armour asked for one correction to the minutes of the December meeting, which was made. The minutes were agreed: proposed by E Glendinning, seconded by D Allen.
- Public questions
None.
- Police report
PC Shaw said that December and the holiday period had been remarkably peaceful. Statistics have not yet been produced. V Nimmo thanked him for attending.
- Councillors’ report
V Nimmo invited Cllr Kean to report back on Council business. The full report is attached. Cllr Kean covered the following items:
- Gritting of roads and pavements, and the concern that pavements in the town are Priority 4 for gritting and just do not get done
- The lack of progress in examining the town’s Traffic Management System
- Expansion of the cemetery – council officers are meeting the MOD this week
- Visitor levy – The Scottish Government released their ‘Amendment Bill’ for the visitor levy legislation on the 6th January 2026. This is not yet set in stone and could potentially change as it moves through parliament
- Flooding in The Meadows, and possible links to the Flood Prevention Scheme
- Officers are currently working on plans to refresh and greatly improve the front elevation of the Victoria Hall.
- Pre-budget proposals, both the content and the process by which the budget is discussed.
Members were particularly concerned about possible cuts to services in the town. J Martin also raised the disgraceful state of the remaining part of the Stewarton-Drumlemble road which were not resurfaced earlier.
- Treasurer’s report
A Gallaher provided the following figures:
CCC Main account £7617.81
Quesada £1985.20
CCWF Campbeltown Community Windfarm Fund
£12180.69 (SSE grant rec’d – £3215.40
CCWF Savings Account £15335.93
- Kintyre Community Regeneration CIC update
J McCallum reported that progress is being made on the formation of a Community Benefit Society, and they are liaising with Argyll and Bute Council over empty properties in the town.
- Correspondence
V Nimmo has circulated all correspondence to CCC members. She highlighted the following:
- A response to the SEPA consultation on water quality is required by 3rd CCC members are invited to respond as individuals.
- Regarding the Giant Tree Circle, the Council have suggested an individual tree in one of two places, or a row of trees to replace those on John Street which are too close to the road. After some discussion, members voted for a single tree.
- Responses to the closure of service points is needed by 28th January: Action: P Crook to draft a response.
- Louise Campbell wrote about helping pupils using mentoring pathways. It is up to CCC members to reply to her as individuals if they are interested. We shall share her letter via Facebook.
- We have as yet had no reply to our letter to the owner of the White Hart.
- Resilience update
E Glendinning provided an update on a meeting on December 10th arranged by Eric Spence of SKDT to bring together parties who would be interested in the topic. Although there is (as yet) no formal record of the meeting, EG reported that there was a good turnout from across the board, and a lively exchange of views which focused on, as Susan Donnelly (corporate resilience manager of Argyll and Bute Council) said, “What can we do?”
There is a handbook available with a template for creating resilience plans and it is hoped that we can use this to make a plan for Campbeltown.
A Kintyre Emergency Liaison Group has been set up on WhatsApp.
The next meeting will be on 11th March, 12 noon at the Town Hall.
- AOCB
Flooding outside the Factory Shop. J McCallum advised that the gulley went into a main line drain and is therefore the responsibility of Scottish Water rather than the Council. Action: P Crook to draft a letter to Scottish Water.
- Flooding at The Meadows. Members recalled that the Flood Prevention Scheme was supposed to stop this and some had expressed concern at the time that it would not. Do the Council have any recourse to those who designed the system? Action: write to Andy Summers, head of roads and infrastructure, Argyll and Bute Council, to express our concerns (P Crook to draft).
- D Allen and J Armour reported on a meeting of the Ferry Users Committee in December and also of the Clyde Ferries Users Group over a) the non-consultation regarding the cancellation of the summer schedule and b) future plans. Both CalMac and Transport Scotland were very conciliatory. If the schedule for the new ferries stays on track, then a service for summer 2027 will be announced. If the situation allows, it might be possible to do something this year, and J Armour got assurance that possible poor usage during 2026 would not be taken into account when assessing the provision for 2027.
Cllr Armour will meet the Connectivity Minister, Jim Fairlie, on January 14th.
- The Jubilee Path was damaged during the recent storms. It has been cleared of weed and stones up to the sewage farm, thanks to Donald Mackay, but is still quite rough beyond that point. V Nimmo reminded the meeting that the further section of the path had been provided by the farmer, and was outwith our remit.
- CC members gave notice that they intend to co-opt Agnes Stewart to the CC.
Date of next meeting
Tuesday February 10th 2026, at the Town Hall.
The meeting ended at 9pm