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Oban Common Good Fund - Meeting Held on 22 May 2023

Argyll and Bute Council · 13 September 2023
Back to Oban Lorn & The Isles Area Committee — 13 September 2023 and its agenda

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MINUTES of MEETING of OBAN COMMON GOOD FUND held in the MICROSOFT TEAMS 
on MONDAY, 22 MAY 2023 
Present: Councillor Andrew Kain (Chair) 
Councillor Kieron Green  Councillor Luna Martin 
Attending: Melissa Stewart, Governance Officer
Marri Malloy, Independent Observer 
1. APOLOGIES 
Apologies were intimated on behalf of :- 
Councillor Jim Lynch
Rev Margi Campbell
Fr. James MacNeil 
2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST 
There were no declarations of interest. 
3. MINUTES OF MEETING 
(a) Minutes of Oban Common Good Fund - 30 March 2023 
The minutes of the Oban Common Good Fund held on 30 March 2023 were
approved as a correct record.  Arising from item 5 (Income Expenditure Report) the
Governance Officer confirmed the Footprint Alba grant had been paid in full and
advised the Trustees of the circumstances behind the unclaimed grant awarded to
Oban Ganavan Heritage Trust (OGHT) despite the project having been completed. 
The Trustees invited the Governance Officer to make enquiries to establish that the
expenditure had been incurred by an individual member of the group, noting receipts
for the project within the scope of the award had been submitted, and that providing
that a firm link can be confirmed, Trustees delegated the decision as to whether to
release payment directly to the individual member of the OGHT to the Governance
Officer, in consultation with the Chair. 
The Trustees resolved in terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland)
Act 1973 to exclude the press and public for the following items of business on the
grounds that they were likely to involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in
Paragraphs 6 respectively of Part 1 of Schedule 7A to the Local Government (Scotland)
Act 1973. 
E1 4. DRAFT ANNUAL ACCOUNTS AND SETTING OF ANNUAL BUDGET 
The Governance Officer advised that following the changes to the Trusts status there
remained an outstanding question for the council’s finance team as to  how year-end
accounts should be presented.   As this had not been resolved in time to prepare draft
accounts for this meeting, the Governance Officer spoke to the annual summaries

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provided by Simmers & Co and questioned whether the Trustees would like to continue
the item to a future date before the draft accounts are presented to Council in June. 
The Governance Officer also referred to the annual summaries which had been prepared
by Simmers & Co and invited the Trustees to set their annual grant budget for financial
year 2023/24. 
Decision 
The Trustees agreed:- 
1) That the draft accounts should go straight to the Council meeting in June;
2) That Simmers & Co be invited to a future meeting to present the audited annual
accounts; and 
3) To set a grant budget of £50,000 for financial year 2023/24. 
(Ref:  Reports on annual cash balance and accruals balance by Simmers & Co,
submitted) 
E1 5. END OF PROJECT MONITORING 
(a) Argyllshire Gathering Trust 
The Trustees were invited to consider the End of Project Monitoring Form from the
Argyllshire Gathering Trust. 
Decision 
The Trustees noted the end of project report. 
(Ref:  End of Project Monitoring Form, submitted) 
(b) Oban Celtic Shinty Club 
The Trustees were invited to consider the End of Project Monitoring Form from the
Oban Celtic Shinty Club. 
Decision 
The Trustees noted the end of project report. 
(Ref:  End of Project Monitoring Form, submitted) 
(c) Oban Sailing Club 
The Trustees were invited to consider the End of Project Monitoring Form from the
Oban Sailing Club and the Governance Officer read out an expression of support
received from UHI Wind and Wave Club. 
Decision 
The Trustees noted the end of project report.

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(Ref:  End of Project Monitoring Form, submitted) 
(d) Hebridean Pursuits 
The Trustees were invited to consider the End of Project Monitoring Form from 
Hebridean Pursuits. 
Decision 
The Trustees noted the end of project report. 
(Ref:  End of Project Monitoring Form, submitted) 
E1 6. NEW APPLICATIONS 
(a) Adventure Oban - Oban Wild Life 
The Trustees considered the application submitted by Adventure Oban/Oban Wild
Life. 
Decision: 
It was unanimously agreed to award the amount of £755.39. 
(Reference: application submitted by Adventure Oban/Oban Wild Life) 
(b) Argyllshire Gathering Trust 
The Trustees considered the application submitted by the Argyllshire Gathering
Trust. 
Decision: 
After careful consideration it was unanimously agreed to refuse the application as
the Trustees agreed it was not consistent with their criteria. 
(Reference: application submitted by the Argyllshire Gathering Trust) 
(c) Developing Potential 
The Trustees considered the application submitted by Developing Potential. 
Decision: 
It was unanimously agreed to award £1000 to this project. 
(Reference: application submitted by Developing Potential) 
(d) Hebridean Pursuits Outdoor Learning 
The Trustees considered the application submitted by Hebridean Pursuits. 
Decision:

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After careful consideration it was unanimously agreed to refuse the application as
the Trustees agreed it was not consistent with their criteria.. 
(Reference: application submitted by Hebridean Pursuits) 
(e) Oban Lifesavers Group 
The Trustees considered the application submitted by Oban Life Savers Club. 
Decision: 
It was agreed to make an in principle award of £2120 towards the overall projects
cost, with the final decision on whether to release the award delegated to the
Governance Officer, in consultation with the Chair, following their consideration of
the club’s latest approved accounts. 
(Reference: application submitted by Oban Life Savers Club) 
E1 7. CONTINUED APPLICATION 
(a) Soroba Community Enterprise 
The Trustees considered the application from Soroba Community Enterprise that
had been continued from their March meeting and heard from Mrs Malloy, who
spoke on behalf of the Group, regarding project. 
After responding to questions from Trustees, Mrs Malloy left the meeting. 
Decision 
The Trustees unanimously agreed to fund the project up to the value of £1000. 
(Reference: application submitted by Soroba Community Enterprise) 
8. DATE OF NEXT MEETING 
It was agreed that the next Oban Common Good Fund would take place on Monday 21
August 2023, at 2pm, by MS Teams.