TEN YEARS AGO
Friday March 14, 2014
Fears Furnace homes could fall into Loch Fyne
Shore-side residents in Furnace fear their homes may be plunged into Loch Fyne as seven metres of land between their homes and the shore has disappeared.
Fourteen householders on Queen Elizabeth Cottages, Furnace, have watched their back gardens vanish over the last decade, with some losing almost two metres during this winter’s storms.
The erosion, residents claim, has been caused by a pumping station, which was built in Furnace by Scottish Water 11 years ago.
With some homes just four metres from the shore, residents have started a group called Save the Land of
Our Shore side Homes (SLOSH) to tackle the problem.
Lynda Syed said: ‘This is an extremely serious situation and there are concerns that if nothing is done that people’s homes will be affected if there is another bad winter.’
SLOSH has enlisted the help of Argyll and Bute Council and MSP Michael Russell to support their negotiations with Scottish Water.
Ms Syed said: ‘Councillor Sandy Taylor and Mr Russell have been very supportive in what is a really frightening situation.
‘They have worked hard at bringing together the interested parties to examine the possible causes and to seek a solution.’
Residents hope to see gabion baskets - large cages filled with rocks - built on the shore side to prevent further erosion, Ms Syed said.
A spokesman for Scottish Water said: ‘Scottish Water’s installation of sewers and a pumping station to improve our infrastructure and the environment in the area in 2005 was done in accordance with good industry practice and the relevant acts.
‘However, we acknowledge the residents’ concern and we have agreed to review this matter again with Argyll and Bute Council.’
Excitement builds around Argyll for the Commonwealth Games
Youngsters and councillors across Argyll gathered to mark Commonwealth Day as excitement builds for the games in Glasgow this summer.
Pupils from Lochgilphead Primary School helped Councillor Douglas Philand, depute provost of Argyll and Bute Council, raise the Commonwealth flag at Kilmory Castle on Monday.
They were amongst hundreds of people to raise the flag in communities across the UK.
Councillor Philand said: ‘Our communities are busy getting active, marking the Commonwealth Games legacy, which promotes activities and the use of local facilities.
‘The council’s Active Schools service has encouraged primary and secondary school pupils to take part in the Commonwealth Games Passport project which awards points for each sporting activity in which they participate. Our primary schools are also participating in a Commonwealth Games art project to create a piece of cloth which represents Scotland’s welcome to the Commonwealth in 2014.
‘All in all, the Commonwealth Games will leave a lasting legacy for Argyll and Bute.’
TWENTY YEARS AGO
Friday March 12, 2004
Electricity fault finally fixed
After more than four months of irregular power cuts, residents of the Lorne Street area of Lochgilphead finally heard some good news this week - the fault in their power supply was detected and fixed at the weekend.
It came not a moment too soon for the businesses and residents affected since November, particularly the inhabitants of McCracken Court sheltered housing, who were so fed-up that they contacted The Argyllshire Advertiser just days before the problem was solved.
They were upset that Scottish and Southern Energy Plc hadn’t offered any assistance or compensation.
Janet MacIntyre had only lived at the court for a few weeks and yet she was ‘on first name terms’ with staff at the electricity company’s call centre.
She said: ‘I never had any problems like this where I was before’.
Mrs Macintyre was getting so used to the cuts that she took torches up to her room at night and always had a flask of hot water at the ready.
Neighbour Cathy Lupton said: ‘More should have been done for the elderly in McCracken Court. The warden is run off her feet, they should compensate her.’
Mrs Lupton said there were times when the power cuts really got her down but the residents had all been looking out for each other and their warden was a God-send: ‘She really has been wonderful; out through the night and all sorts. She must be exhausted,’ she added.
The problem at Lorne Street was described as a ‘transient fault’. Homes and business could lose power at any time and there appeared to be no pattern, though wet weather often started it off.
When the fault occurred on the low voltage network it caused protection fuses at the local substation to operate.
Speaking on Monday, SSE operations manager Stephen Reid said that the engineers had an incredibly difficult job finding the problem, which turned out to be a faulty joint in the main line supplying power to that part of Lochgilphead.
‘They have devices they can use to locate faults but, in this case, it proved very difficult to find the exact location without digging up everything,’ he said and explained that the company had to balance finding the fault with the effects of digging up the street.
In the end a new device called a sniffer, which detects the burning smell caused by cable faults, helped point them in the right direction and engineers Gordon Hamilton and Donald Anderson put in plenty of man hours to make sure it was remedied as soon as possible.
Mr Reid apologised to Scottish and Southern’s customers and thanked them for bearing with the company while it strove to correct the fault.
Regarding compensation, Mr Reid said that, as long as they were satisfied they were doing their best to get the power back on, Scottish and Southern did not normally pay out unless it was off for the 18 hours set by the electricity regulator under the guaranteed standards of service.
‘Keeping the lights on is our main priority,’ he said.
After speaking to Mr Reid, The Argyllshire Advertiser was told that the electricity company had decided to refund the costs of battery-operated touch lamps McCracken Court’s warden purchased for the residents to use whenever their lights were out.
FORTY YEARS AGO
FRIDAY March 9 1984
Library cuts threat
Widespread opposition to plans to cut drastically the hours of public libraries in the district - including Lochgilphead and Tarbert - has forced the district council to have second thoughts about the plan, which has been suspended, at least until next month.
With drastic cuts in all departments of Argyll and Bute District Council likely following their severely reduced budget for the coming year, the tourism, leisure and recreation department - who run the public libraries - have been forced to make savings of almost £15,000.
The department have made various cuts in their services, with swimming pools and putting greens opening shorter hours, but the proposal which has roused most anger has been the plan to close libraries on two evenings each week and all day on Saturdays.
The plans were approved at the tourist, leisure and recreation committee budget meeting last month, and received the approval of the full council two weeks ago when they decided the rates for the coming year.
However, since then they have run into widespread criticism, and it now looks as if the council will be forced to change their minds.
The chairman of the tourism, leisure and recreation committee, Councillor Donald MacPhail, said that he had originally planned to oppose the cuts at the full council meeting, although he had decided not to.
Now, however, he hopes to get a meeting of the committee in April to overturn the decision.
He said this week that he hopes that, by finding alternative cash cuts, the committee and the department can save the required £14,000 without hitting library services too severely.
He commented: ‘I will be seeking approval at the meeting for an internal financial adjustment which, if successful could mean that the libraries could remain open completely on Saturdays.’
The position of the proposed cuts in library hours during weekday evenings is less certain, with the possibility that these cuts could still go ahead.
Meanwhile, opposition to the plans having come not only from Mid Argyll but from all parts of the district, the department have suspended any library cuts until after the meeting on April 12.
SIXTY YEARS AGO
Tuesday March 10, 1964
Marquis of Lorne engaged To Wed Miss Iona Colquhoun of Luss
The engagement was announced on Monday of the Marquis of Lorne, son of the Duke of Argyll and Mrs Louise Clews Timpson of New York, to Miss Iona Mary Colquhoun, daughter of Sir Ivar Colquhoun of Luss, Bt. and Lady Colquhoun.
It is not yet known where or when the wedding will take place and plans are proceeding for Miss Colquhoun’s joint coming-out party at Hemel Hempstead in May.
The marquis, who attended Inveraray Grammar School, rose to the rank of captain in the 1st Battalion, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, before he resigned a few years ago.
Council member deplores youth club rivalries
Lochgilphead Youth Club is losing membership because of a rival club started by a local minister. This was stated at a meeting of the county education authority held in Campbeltown last week.
The Dochas Youth Club -its name means hope- was refused an application for a grant to help them build club premises at a cost of £3,327.
Mr T. G. Henderson, the director of education, told members that when a grant was made it usually amounted to a quarter of the projected expenditure.
Mr Henderson added that the sub-committee, which had considered the request, did not think they would be justified in spending over £800 on a club which was only meeting one night per week.
The Ardrishaig member, Miss Elizabeth Matheson, said that the Dochas Club was a commendable organisation which had suffered through the formation of a local church club. ‘Membership has dwindled and the club at the moment is rather down on its luck,’ she stated.
Mrs Matheson suggested that if the club couldn’t be given a grant they might be given the promise of premises in the present school once the new one had been built.
If members had a clubhouse they would meet much more frequently than one night a week. Added Mrs Matheson: ‘I think the idea is that the proposed clubhouse will be used by other youth clubs as well. We must remember that Lochgilphead is going to expand and premises of this kind will definitely be needed.’
Captain P. L. Mackie-Campbell, of Stonefield, said that this kind of inter-club rivalry was not confined to Lochgilphead. ‘I think it is a shame that places should have this sort of internal strife between bodies with one single aim.’
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