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People across Pվɫ��Ƭ and Bute are being urged to make sure they register to vote in next month’s UK Parliamentary Election, before the 26 November deadline. Voters in Pվɫ��Ƭ and Bute will join others from across the country on Thursday 12December to elect one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent the Pվɫ��Ƭ and Bute UK Parliamentary Constituency at Westminster. 

A £200,000 renovation of Inveraray’s Category A-listed Avenue Screen has been completed. Scaffolding, which was first erected at the site in January, has been removed and the finishing touches have been made to the work, which saw the Avenue Screen’s cement render removed and replaced with traditional lime render. Work was also carried out on the famous archway’s gates.

Councillors have approved a potential total grant of £847,507 for repairs to three tenement buildings in Dunoon’s town centre Conservation Area. Bute and Cowal Area Committee recently approved grants for repairs to properties on Pվɫ��Ƭ Street as part of the Dunoon Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS). The grants will help fund the comprehensive repair of the three large buildings, which are in significant need of repair. The work will safeguard these three prominent, historic properties and enhance the look and feel of Dunoon’s main shopping street.

A traditional shopfront in Rothesay will be brought back to its former glory thanks to a grant of more than £50,000. Councillors on the Bute and Cowal Area committee recently approved the release of £51,680 from the Rothesay Townscape Heritage fund to support the full-scale repair of the shopfront at 19a, 19b and 20b Argyle Street in the town. Additionally, committee members were updated on the award of £78,066 for shopfront work to be carried out on 69-71 Montague Street in Rothesay.

As we all prepare for the cold weather, the council has taken delivery of 17 new vehicles to join its fleet of winter maintenance vehicles that will treat 52% of our road network when dangerous conditions are forecast. To mark the arrival of the new vehicles, primary school children throughout Pվɫ��Ƭ and Bute have been invited to think up a name for one gritter in each of the four local administrative areas. The winners will see their chosen name on a plate on the side of the vehicle. The competition closed on 5 November.

Imagine working as a teacher and being able to do physical education classes on an unspoilt beach instead of a school gym? Well, for Jonathan Pye, the principal teacher at Small Isles Primary on Jura, this is a reality. Jonathan started out his teaching career in Burnley, before moving to Jura in April this year to take up the principal teacher post. “I love Scotland.” He said, “I’m not Scottish but, growing up, whenever I reached the border I always felt I was coming home.

Pվɫ��Ƭ is asking members of the public about their priorities for council services, as it prepares to bridge an estimated £9.2m funding gap in 2020/21. Councillor Aileen Morton, Leader of the Council explained: “Unfortunately, it has become the norm to speak every year about how much of a funding gap the council has.

Staff and pupils at Lochgilphead Joint Campus have been getting into the spirit of Halloween, whilst also doing their bit to keep Pվɫ��Ƭ and Bute’s food banks stocked up. Science Technician, Caroline Waterhouse, came up with the novel idea of growing pumpkins at the school and inviting staff to pay to carve them.

Pվɫ��Ƭ and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) is committed to ensuring that members of the local community are involved in the planning of Health and Social Care services within Pվɫ��Ƭ and Bute. One of the ways of achieving this is through Locality Planning Groups (LPGs) which bring together NHS and Council staff, community members, carers, representatives from the third and independent sectors and community-based groups who work together to improve the health and wellbeing of the community in which they live. The HSCP has four LPGs and these are:

Pվɫ��Ƭ and Bute Integrated Joint Board (IJB) is the Governance Board of Pվɫ��Ƭ and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and has responsibility for the planning, resourcing and overseeing of the operational delivery of integrated services. Membership of the IJB comprises elected councillors from Pվɫ��Ƭ, NHS Highland Board members and individuals from a range of sectors and stakeholder groups including the Third Sector, Independent Sector, patients/service users, Trade Unions, staff and carers.