Potential projects for the £20m Levelling Up funding awarded to Argyll and Bute four months ago have finally been published.
And a ‘long list’ of developments includes spending £5m towards a new business park at Colgrain, which council officials say is linked with the expansion of the Faslane naval base.
Also included is £5m towards the Rothesay Pavilion restoration, which is already five years behind schedule, with spending set to be double the original budget.
A report to next week’s meeting of the full council confirms that the money must be spent during this calendar year, adding that a final decision will be made in September after business cases have been drawn up by the UK Government.
Executive director Kirsty Flanagan said that only two or three projects would go ahead, adding: “There will be a degree of public consultation but no details have yet been provided on the detail of the process.
“It should be noted that the final decision on the successful projects will lie with the Secretary of State (Michael Gove) and not the council and he has certain preferences as far as it is understood.
“It should be further noted that the Minister for Levelling Up Jacob Young will meet Brendan O’Hara our MP as part of this process and indeed there has already been an initial meeting held.”
UK Government officials are due to visit the area on Monday as a scoping exercise – the report adds wryly that they ‘initially struggled to understand the scale of our geography’.
Ten projects are listed, with three coded as green in terms of risk:
- Colgrain Business Park: “Contribution to the building out of this new business park linked to innovation associated with the expansion of HMNB Clyde at Colgrain. Contribution would relate to utilities and access works plus workshop space.” The development of this site has frequently been discussed by council officials and the MoD in meetings behind closed doors in recent years.
- Rothesay Pavilion: “To contribute to the budget gap to bring the pavilion back to productive use. This will enable funds to be redirected to other council priorities.”
- And £10m towards phase two of Oban Airport Aviation Business Park.
Listed as amber are:
- £10 to £13m at Dunbeg near Oban, for new roadworks and roundabout to help open up a new commercial area and over 400 new homes
- £3m to £5m towards a marine training school and seaweed academy, also at Dunbeg
- £12m for the regeneration of Dunoon
- and £5m for affordable housing for key workers
And four projects are listed as red:
- Campbeltown pier extension (£10m)
- £10m for a new low carbon ferry to run between Islay and Jura
- £10m to £15m for roads on Islay to accommodate expansion of the whisky industry
- And converting the former Royal Hotel in Rothesay into 13 new homes and commercial space , costing £5m
The full council report is here: LEVELLING UP PARTNERSHIP PROCESS
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