Categories
Clachan Glendaruel News Stronafian

St. Modan

One of the privileges of working on some of the projects that the Development Trust have in view, is that sometimes you come across really unexpected slices of information or history. Once such happened today as we examined deed maps pertaining to Stronafian Forest.

We knew there were archaeological remains in the woodland, but what I certainly hadn’t realised was that those remains have a direct correlation to the establishment of our church, and the name given to it and the school.

Here’s a grab of the area:

Categories
Clachan Glendaruel Kilmodan Primary School News Press & Publicity

Our Letter in Support of the Save Kilmodan Primary School Campaign

The Development Trust have just sent our letter in support of the campaign to keep Kilmodan Primary School open to Cleland Sneddon, the head of Education for Argyll and Bute Council. The letter provides a detailed critique of the proposals as they relate to Kilmodan Primary School (and Strachur and Tighnabruaich) as well as looking at the process in its entirety.

This letter has been cc’d to our local councillors Alex MacNaughton, Ron Simon and Bruce Marshall, as well as MSP Jim Mather and MP Alan Reid.

Here is an excerpt of the more general points:

The Colintraive and Glendaruel Development Trust wishes to register its opposition to Argyll and Bute Council’s proposals to close Kilmodan School in the Clachan of Glendaruel for the following reasons:

  • The proposals do not improve the educational standards for the pupils of the school in any way.
  • The proposals commit the children to a school journey of over 45 minutes: which by the council’s own standards is unacceptable.
  • The proposals critically undermine the economic, social and cultural viability of the Clachan of Glendaruel and therefore the community.
  • The proposals create a division in our community, and do so without regard for the electoral and physical boundaries between Colintraive and Glendaruel.
  • The proposals have not been made in consultation with the statutory community bodies.The proposals were not preceded with any attempt to engage with the community on alternative arrangements to closure as the act and guidance indicate.
  • The proposals, which have been put forward for discussion on 2nd November by the council, state in point 8.1 the note that the council decided to go ahead with the consultation process on the 2nd November. This contradicts statements made in letters to parents to all three schools. In our view this undermines the credibility of the whole consultation process.

If you require a different format of this document, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Please note: Michael Russell was not party to any discussion of this issue by the board of the Development Trust and takes and supports no view on it.
Categories
Broadband Glendaruel News Premises Projects

Glendaruel Village Hall gets Broadband!

And a phoneline on 3rd November. We’ll update here when the facility is available for community members to use. We’re hoping holiday-makers will also be able to connect.

Categories
Clachan CRtB Glendaruel Glendaruel Hotel News

Application to register an interest in Hotel passes first stage

The Development Trust received notification today that our application to acquire a right to buy on the Glendaruel Hotel has been accepted by the Scottish Ministers, and that copies of the application have been sent to the present owners. A prohibition on the sale of the property is now in place.

We will now await the response of the owners, and thereafter the determination of the Minister.

Categories
Glendaruel News Premises Projects

Desks and Drawers and Office Space

Today we met with the Glendaruel Village Hall to talk about how the space we’d be using in the back-room would be structured. The idea is to see if we can create a set of shelving and desk space that will fulfill our requirements as a two-day-a-week office, and the Hall’s need for a creche-and-quiet-space for the children. We think we have worked it out, so next steps are to cost, implement and then move in.

Once we have the broadband in place, we are hoping to make it accessible to all residents wanting an internet connection in the hall by supplying a computer in the hallway. Those with laptops will be able to access the wifi.

BTW. One of the more interesting challenges with getting a phoneline and broadband to the hall is that it has never been allocated a postcode — we now have one, PA22 3AE!

Categories
Forestry News Projects Stronafian

Announcing the Stronafian Sunday Sandwich …

… I think the poster below says it all doesn’t it?

Stronafian Sunday Sandwich
Categories
Forestry News Projects Stronafian

Our Animateurs Start Today!

Anne Lamb and Joan Robertson are our animateurs and they will be going around Glendaruel and Colintraive respectively taking the views of everyone they can find. Not only residents, but holiday home owners and visitors. The idea is to get as full a picture as possible of what everyone thinks of the project, what we’d like to do with it, and how we might create best value out of it. Exciting stuff.

The animateurs are funded by the Community Land Unit, whom we’re very grateful to!

Categories
Clachan News Projects Working Groups

The Working Groups are off!

Just a quick note to report that two working groups were formed on the 4th in Glendaruel, one to look specifically at the Hotel, and the other at a community hub or Pavilion.

As I write the Hotel group have begun collecting signatures for a petition under the Community Right to Buy legislation in order to acquire the right to buy the property. Members of the working group and the development trust board will be visiting as many folk as they can to offer the opportunity to sign the petition.

Categories
Forestry News Stronafian Working Groups

Would you like to be an Animateur?

Categories
News Working Groups

Glendaruel Working Group

Tonight in the Glendaruel Village Hall members of the community are invited to attend an initial meeting to investigate the possibility of creating a working group to look at the future of the clachan, and in particular its role as a community centre.