Campbeltown Community Council

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CCC Minutes March 2026

Apr 29, 2026

Campbeltown Community Council

Minutes of Meeting 10th March 2026

7.30pm in Campbeltown Town Hall

Present

V Nimmo (chair), A Baker, A Gallacher, E Glendinning, J Martin, J McCallum, C McCulloch, A McMillan, A Stewart, P Crook (secretary)

In attendance

Cllr J Kean, Argyll and Bute Council

PCs MacCallum and Weir, Police Scotland

Eric Spence (Trust Manager) and Willy Durnan, SKDT

Catherine Kennedy (co-ordinator) and Andrew Milne (chair), Mid Argyll Transport Volunteers

  1. Welcome and committee business

V Nimmo welcomed everyone to the meeting and particularly Catherine Kennedy and Andrew Milne.

  1. Apologies

Apologies were received from C Dobbie, D Allen and E Grabowska..

  1. Declarations of interest

V Nimmo reminded members to declare any interest they had in an agenda item as it was reached.

  1. Review of minutes of previous meeting and matters arising

The minutes were agreed: proposed by C McCulloch, seconded by A Baker.

We are still awaiting replies regarding the Giant Tree Circle.

V Nimmo has written again to the owner of the White Hart hotel, copied to Building Standards. They are having equal difficulties in contacting the owner.

  1. Public questions

None.

  1. Police report and structure of future reports

PCs MacCallum and Weir had nothing significant or out of the ordinary to report for the month of February.

  1. Presentation by Mid Argyll Transport Volunteers

A Milne and C Kennedy spoke to the Community Council about the transport service work they provide around mid-Argyll, and the growing need, as they see it, for a similar service for Kintyre. Members had many questions and a lively discussion ensued. Briefly, the points which emerged include:

  • The current service covers patient transport to doctors, opticians, dentists and the hospitals in Oban and Glasgow. The driver takes the client and waits as needed for the return journey;
  • MATV have 30 volunteer drivers at present, in Mid-Argyll and Tarbert, and 684 clients on their books. They might make 40 to 50 runs to Glasgow every 4 weeks, covering 8,000 to 10,000 miles. Drivers need to have a PVG (Protecting Vulnerable Groups) check, and sort out the correct insurance and tax liability, assisted by MATV;
  • The service is subsidised by the NHS, but that does not cover the full costs. The client pays the first £10, the NHS pay an agreed rate (for example, £70 for Glasgow) and MATV have to find the balance;
  • The demand is increasing, and they have around 40 clients in Kintyre, of whom 20 are in Campbeltown. These have to make their own way to the MAKI area (from Whitehouse north) to be met by a MATV driver;
  • Drivers provide more than just transport – they are companions for the journey and give support for both good and bad outcomes.
  • MATV do not overlap with the local taxi services, or the buses. In Campbeltown there is the air option to Glasgow, but that is increasingly hard (perhaps now impossible) to get the NHS to agree to use;
  • If Kintyre wanted to provide a similar service, there are options. The simplest would be for volunteer drivers here to be coordinated from MATV. But we would still have to negotiate rates for Oban and Glasgow with the NHS. Islay went for a fully independent option which took 2 years to set up with help from MATV.

Community Council members are initially enthusiastic about the idea, and will discuss it at our April meeting. We want to involve Shopper-Aid and Gillian Neil at Campbeltown hospital. MATV stand ready to assist us with anything we need.

V Nimmo warmly thanked Catherine and Andrew for taking the trouble to come down from Lochgilphead.

  1. Update on the South Kintyre Development Trust

E Spence explained that the SKDT is facing financial challenges, and wanted to explain the situation to the Community Council to find out where we might be able to assist. Income has been affected by a reduction in statutory funding, the loss of EU funds (which have not been replaced by the UK government), reduced charitable income, and inflationary pressures, set against an increased demand for its services. Although SKDT is asset rich (and there is no danger of losing those assets), staff costs cannot be met in full, and currently reserve funds are being tapped. SKDT have asked the Development Trust Association of Scotland for help in looking at options for developing an income/expenditure plan.

The Trust work in a number of different areas including:

  • Hosting events at the Town Hall;
  • Hosting events at the SKDT Hall (formerly the Red Cross Hall);
  • Maintaining the Helipad;
  • Maintaining the community garden;
  • Running the putting green and toilets;
  • Coordinating groups such as Resilience, the Community Action Network, Climate Action, Rainforest Alliance.

The Community Council are sympathetic to the SKDT’s current challenges and discussed a number of options. The first was to reduce costs by cutting down on the number of different projects which SKDT was trying to manage. Was the Kirk Street Hall really an asset, for example? Could it be sold? E Spence said that it was certainly under-used at the moment, as it was not in that good a condition, but volunteers have been working on the toilets and internal fittings to make it more attractive to potential users.

The second was to really get to grips with the overall finances. There are only four Trustees, none of them with a finance background. It would be of benefit if that could be rectified. For example, the 24/25 Accounts show two charges on the Trust which have not been discharged and will run until 2029. What provision is being made for these?

The third area would be to help with advocacy. We can certainly help to organise a public meeting (as was done successfully for Shopper-Aide) to raise the profile of SKDT. But the Community Council recommended that SKDT set up a separate bank account for the Helipad. Although we are assured that donations are used directly for the helipad, it would be better publicity if the funds could be seen to be ring-fenced.

These issues are all important and E Spence will continue to update us. The Community Council will look again at the situation at our April meeting.

  1. Councillor’s report

Cllr Kean’s full report has been circulated. Issues covered included:

  • Pavement gritting: the Council have said that Town Centre pavements will be gritted on future occasions;
  • Stewarton – Machrihanish resurfacing: the need has now been logged and work should hopefully start in the next financial year;
  • Similarly for the poor quality temporary patching of the A83 outside Dellwood;
  • Word on the crossing at Aqualibrium has started but there is now some doubt as to the best location for the crossing outside the Royal Hotel;
  • The Traffic Management Review is paused due to a reorganisation of Roads Department;
  • Dog fouling: there is little which the Council can do, realistically, with only one person covering the whole of MAKI for litter, fly-tipping, dog fouling and linked issues;
  • Flooding at the Meadows: an investigation is planned, but there is no timeline. The contract states that quality issues need to flagged within 104 weeks of the end of the contract, which has passed;
  • Proposed cuts to Lorne Campbell Court Enhanced Care Service: the decision will be made on 26th Cllr Kean has started a petition which all are encouraged to sign. Action: P Crook to draft a letter on the subject to the Integration Joint Board;
  • The budget meeting accepted the need for a council tax rise of 9.7% so that essential services can be maintained.

Community Council members drew to Cllr Kean’s attention the following:

  • The hole in the wall at Kirkland, and the poor state of the footpaths round about;
  • The damaged sea wall on the Esplanade;
  • Potholes in the cemetery;
  • The outstanding chimney repair at Longrow;
  • The damage that parking restrictions are doing to business in Longrow South.

In relation to the last point, Cllr Kean said that unfortunately nothing would be done until the Traffic Management Review had finished, and that was delayed indefinitely, as reported earlier.

  1. Treasurer’s report

A Gallacher provided the following figures:

CCC Main account         £7531.31
Quesada                       £1985.20
CCWF Campbeltown Community Windfarm Fund

£9583.69 (£903 balance received from Lussa Wind Grant)

CCWF Savings Account  £15395.48

The Community Council agreed to pay the balance of funds required to repair the Jubilee Path (£660). Action: J McCallum and A Gallacher to take forward.

  1. Correspondence

V Nimmo has circulated all correspondence to CCC members. She highlighted the following:

  • Nominations for volunteer of the year award: the Community Council agreed to nominate Martha Rennie Action: V Nimmo will look into putting together a nomination
  • The Energy Redress Scheme: the Community Council will register. Action: P Crook to register
  • The HSCP Locality Planning Group meeting on 26th March: we should send a representative. Action – a CCC volunteer required
  • The Campbeltown Airport Users Forum: J McCallum and J Martin will attend and report back
  • A letter from Olivia Brown asking for a meeting on population retention and growth in Kintyre. V Nimmo has written back to agree and will circulate the dates on which O Brown is available.
  1. AOCB

V Nimmo asked members whether the Community Council should have a press officer to help to raise the profile of what we do. This was thought to be a good idea, and Agnes Stewart agreed to take this on.

E Glendinning reported that the Resilience meeting due on March 11th has been indefinitely postponed.

  1. Date of next meeting

Tuesday April 14th at the Town Hall.

The meeting ended at 9.15pm

 

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