Rumours of Greggs and a Domino’s drive-thru coming to Dunbeg’s Halfway filling station remain unfounded, Oban Community Council has heard.
Despite word circulating in the town that both could be on the cards, as yet no planning applications have been put to Argyll and Bute Council, members heard at Monday’s meeting.
However it is anticipated a detailed application for a new roundabout and stage four of new homes for Dunbeg will be submitted by August. Work is progressing, community councillors were told.
Benches on the town’s seafront need cleaned and the community council is hoping a fence will be put up to conceal the empty site next to the Oban Inn.
Disappointment was expressed that there were almost more ex-councillors present at the meeting than current serving ones.
A suggestion was made to bring back the former open surgery-style gathering that used to be attended by all of Oban, Lorn and the Isles ward councillors under the one roof.
Councillor Luna Martin desribed it as a "great idea" and Councillor Kieron Green also gave it his support.
Questions were asked about the town’s short-let situation and how Argyll and Bute Council is getting on with processing the applications.
On the topic of short-let restriction zones, Councillor Green said Argyll and Bute Council was waiting to see what happened in Edinburgh and that any such move in Oban would be subject to a consultation.
It was also raised as a point of concern that currently, any conditions put on short-term let bids are kept confidential to the applicant and not made public. This would make it difficult for the public to police, the meeting heard.
Pollarding trees at Pulpit Hill on the hillside, rather than taking them down, would be a better recommendation, the community council heard, and a new sign has been ordered to replace the one that wrongly spells Polvinister Road.
Police were not at the meeting despite a letter from community council convenor Frank Roberts urging them to "make the effort" to show up.
Councillor Green said officers did very occasionally turn up at community councils but it was a reflection on cuts that Police Scotland had made in their budget, having to prioritise their officers’ time.
He said the community council needed to flag up in advance if there was a particular matter they wanted to discuss. "The days of them turning up to every community council meeting are long gone," he said.
Concerns were also raised about the lack of time given to elected members of Argyll and Bute Council to read and digest lengthy officers’ reports.
An example was made, using a 150-page long report for the recent harbour board, received by councillors just five days before they met.
Ex-Argyll and Bute councillor Roddy McCuish, who was at the community council as a member of the public, said councillors should send back reports, saying they are not accepting them and call for meetings to be postponed until they have had enough time to scrutinise them.
But Councillor Green said being able to "absorb" information was "one of the skills" required of councillors.
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