PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
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Minutes:
The first two questions were received in advance of the meeting from Luing Community Council;
Question 1
The two conservation villages
of Cullipool and Toberonochy experienced flooding during the heavy rains early
October, and it is the second time that flooding in Cullipool has damaged
homes. On the advice of the Community Planning Group administrator we have
emailed the Roads and Infrastructure Dept to ask if there is a possibility of
obtaining technical advice from their flooding engineers (though we are aware
of how much pressure they are under right now). It would be useful to know if
this is the best route or if there is anyone else that we can contact to obtain
technical advice on how to prevent or minimise future flooding risks.
Hugh O鈥橬eill advised that he
had passed the query onto the Design Services, who met with Luing Community
Council on Monday and will progress their query.
Question 2
How does the Council know
which houses are second-homes? I note that a number of people are on the
electoral register here who are second-home owners. Is this legitimate, and might this
allow them, for instance, to avoid the council tax increase for second-homes
when it is introduced, or to benefit in other ways (eg free University fees for
a child if their home is in England)?
Fergus
Walker had provided a response which was read out by the Committee Clerk.听 鈥淎 property is defined in law as a second
home if it is no-one鈥檚 sole or main residence and it is lived in for at least
25 days per annum鈥.
听
鈥淚n
terms of compliance we conduct reviews of second homes and ask for details such
as electricity/utility bills, insurance documents and other verification to
support the fact that a property is a second home. There are other tools that
we use to identify sole or main residences, ie:- where people are trying to
avoid their property being classed as a second home we would use credit
referencing tools and sharing data with other local authorities to track and
trace people鈥.
Question
3 鈥 Andrew Spence BID4 Oban
On Saturday 7th October 2023 Oban and the surrounding area
experienced severe flooding issues resulting in roads being washed away,
landslides, disruption, and serious flooding in the Lochavullin area of Oban.
The deluge happened very quickly and numerous busineses were unable to take any
precautions. The impact was catastrophic for many busineses in the area.
Similar flooding happened in 2017 and 2018. At that time, we were told
the reason for the flooding was that pumps had failed. In 2023, the same pumps
failed again.
There has been flood impact surveys undertaken in Oban. The most recent
being published in June 2019, 33 pages, with various short-term and long-term
options. To date the only visible change has been the introduction of plastic
walls along a very short length of the Black Lyn adjacent to the Guide Hall.
Impact to business and community:
Social impact.
This time Oban nearly lost all its supermarkets to flooding and had the
water level been about 20cm higher this would have occurred causing a serious
social impact to the area. No supermarkets, no food! The owners of the
businesses, staff and customers have all suffered with some of the businesses
community stating they will not be able to carry on if there is another flood.
This has had an impact on mental health.
What next?
Hugh
O鈥橬eill advised that this be taken off table for a detailed response, to which
Mr Spence agreed.
Question
4 & 5 鈥 Linda Robb, Dunbeg Community Council
Linda
advised that she had been in dialogue with the Council鈥檚 roads department over
a blocked drain on Meadow Road, Dunbeg, over the years.听 The recent bad weather had caused the
overflow of this drain to ice over the road making it unsafe for vehicles using
the road. On reporting it again she was advised by Traffic and Development that
this was a Trunk Road and therefore the Council could not do anything about
it.听 Meadow Road is not on the trunk road
therefore very disappointed in the unsatisfactory response from the Council.
Hugh O鈥橬eill apologised for the lack of response and asked that Ms Robb pass ... view the full minutes text for item 4
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