Supplementary Agenda Pack 1 - Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Area Community Planning Group 010524
Argyll and Bute Council · 1 May 2024
Back to Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Area Community Planning Group — 1 May 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Kilmory, Lochgilphead, PA31 8RT Tel: 01546605522 DX 599700 LOCHGILPHEAD 30 April 2024 SUPPLEMENTARY PACK 1 MID ARGYLL, KINTYRE AND THE ISLANDS AREA COMMUNITY PLANNING GROUP -ON A HYBRID BASIS IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM, IONAD CHALUIM CHILLE ILE (ISLAY GAELIC CENTRE), ISLAY AND BY MICROSOFT TEAMS on WEDNESDAY, 1 MAY 2024 at 10:30 AM. I enclose herewith Item 4 (b) (Argyll and Bute Climate Action: Developing a Climate Strategy and Action Plan for Argyll and Bute) and Item 11 (f) (Scottish Canals Update), which were not included on the original agenda for the above meeting. ADDITIONAL ITEMS 4. CLIMATE CHANGE (b) Argyll and Bute Climate Action: Developing a Climate Strategy and Action Plan for Argyll and Bute (Pages 3 - 6) Report by Climate Change Project Manager – ACT Now, Argyll and the Isles Coast and Country Side Trust (ACT) 11. PARTNER UPDATES (l) Scottish Canals Update (Pages 7 - 10) Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Area Community Planning Group Contact: Iona Campbell, Senior Committee Assistant; Tel: 01436 658 801 Public Document Pack
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Date: 16 April 2024 Argyll and Bute Climate Action: developing a Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan for Argyll and Bute. 1.0 Purpose The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the Community Planning Partnership’s Argyll And Bute Climate Action project: developing a Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan for Argyll and Bute. 2.0 Recommendations The CPG is asked to note the approach and status of the project outlined in the report. 3.0 Background The CPP sub-group working on climate change is known as the Climate Change Working Group. Its work is currently centred on producing a Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan for Argyll and Bute. The plan is to be produced by employing a Climate Change Project Manager to lead on the process. Argyll & the Isles Coast and Countryside Trust (ACT) are the employing body and the post is fully funded by the CPP funded from end October 2023 to October 2025. This update sets out the current position. 4.0 Detail 4.1 Progress Following a literature review and a series of meetings with key Community Planning Partnership and wider regional and national partners, an initial outline strategy was presented to the Climate Change Working Group meeting of 20 March. The structure was informed by best and most appropriate exemplars from across Scotland, and by feedback from Steering Group and wider partner meetings including the emphasis placed on brevity and avoidance of duplication. Points discussed at the CWG and subsequently reported to the CPP Management Committee on 10 April reported included Page 3 Agenda Item 4b
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• The strategy is to support partners to identify or create opportunities to meet existing duties: not a mandate to create new duties • Outcomes from key national climate strategies have been mapped and aligned with the three CPP Transport, Housing and Community Wellbeing outcomes. • The group supported the principle of early production of a strategy paper describing strategic approach, and then emphasis on development of the action plan, rather than producing both towards the end of the funded period • Use existing reporting mechanisms, principally the Public Body Climate Duty reporting requirements, where possible rather than create new requirements • Use existing data where possible and work within limitations of trying to fill data gaps where there are no mandated requirements • Recognise and work within the limits of the areas where CPP partners have control and where they can seek to influence. Notably, private sector emissions may be outwith the scope of influence for the CPP, but it remains important that businesses can be supported to reduce emissions. • The proposed national adaptation strategy places high expectations on the role of communities as part of an overall resilience response. • Engagement has been predominantly with institutions and key contacts but working closely with the grassroots engagement programme of the Climate Action Network Hub work funded by Scottish Government which has greatly extended reach. The strategy project is also adding value to the Hub work. • The project is also collaborating with the CPP workstream developing Area Plans (working name) 4.2 Next Steps Immediate next steps are: • Ongoing engagement – noting the importance of engaging with young people and how branding and identity may support this • Ongoing engagement in conjunction with Climate Hubs • Gap analysis, risk and opportunity assessment methodologies with further guidance from key CPP contacts • Followed by risk and opportunity assessment workshops, potentially grouped by CPP Outcomes 4.3 Governance The project manager is line managed by ACT and guided and supported by the project Steering Group, a sub-set of the CPP Climate Change Working Group chaired by Rona Gold. The CPP Climate Change Working Group will moderate its activity while this project is ongoing, and proposed new Terms of Reference reflect a change of emphasis to Page 4
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sharing expertise and knowledge to support the development and delivery of the strategy. The project is working closely with the Argyll & Bute Climate Action Network Hub (ABCAN), which sits within the wider suite of Act Now climate projects in which ACT is engaged. The Hub has Scottish Government funding, and is overseen by a collaboration between ACT, Argyll & Bute Third Sector Interface and Time for Change Argyll & Bute. Andy Macpherson, Climate Change Project Manager For more information, please contact: Andy Macpherson andy@act-now.org.uk Page 5
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Crinan Canal planned winter works programme 2023/24 and dummy lock reactive works – update We’re delighted to have reached another milestone in these winter works, rewatering Crinan Basin, the dummy lock, and the sea lock! Our teams are busy with the final pieces of work and site take-down, and we are now on schedule to reopen the canal on Monday 29th April, a day earlier than anticipated. We also look forward to welcoming you to our community meeting this week – please note that this has moved from today to tomorrow; the meeting will now be on Thursday 25th April, at 6.30pm in the Egg Shed, Ardrishaig. What have we been doing? At lock 15, the Crinan sea lock, we completed the last of the mechanical and electrical works before removing the scaffolding from the lock chamber. We also removed the temporary dam upstream of the lock and completed the repointing work on the back wall in Crinan Basin, below the car park. Next, we began dry commissioning the new lock gates and completed snagging works, before preparing to rewater the basin and the locks. Rewatering was completed last week – this was a faster process than last year, as we just had to raise the water level between locks 13 and 14 by around 1m, before filling the basin, dummy lock, and sea lock. We were then able to use the 130-tonne crane on the over-lock platform to remove the stop planks downstream of the sea lock. The Crinan Canal operations team transported these via pontoon along the canal to lock 10, where a smaller crane lifted them out. Next, we moved the 130-tonne crane on to the road at Crinan and used it to take apart and remove the crane platform – this was also transported via the canal to lock 10, with the assistance of the canal operations team. We then began our reinstatement works around the basin, including completing the installation of new electrical bollards and removing the temporary pedestrian bridge over lock 14. Access has now reverted to over the lock 14 gates. What are we doing now? Now that the canal is rewatered, we’re carrying out wet commissioning of the new lock gates. The team are also progressing with the site take-down; work requiring the 130-tonne crane finished yesterday, and our temporary road closure alongside the Crinan Basin has now been lifted. Page 7 Agenda Item 11l
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This week, all construction equipment held at the lock 10 car park will be transported to Ardrishaig, and our site cabins in the Crinan Basin car park are scheduled to be removed. Therefore, please be aware that the road to and from Crinan will be busier this week with heavy vehicles. In addition to works at the sea lock, we also have a team working at locks 12 and 13 at Dunardy, installing the stone quadrants that are used in operation with the balance beams. These works should be finished towards the end of next week, and don’t affect the reopening of the canal. What will we be doing next? We will continue the site take-down and continue with reinstatement and landscaping works around the basin. The safety fencing around the dummy lock will remain, so there will be no public access over the dummy lock. Crinan dummy lock – reactive works We are carrying out a phased programme of works to repair a leak at the Crinan dummy lock, which was the original sea lock until the 1930s. These works are subject to regulatory consent, and thanks to our teams and our partners at Historic Environment Scotland, we have been able to carry out the first phase of the repair in tandem with the sea lock gate replacement winter works. This first phase of work involved driving sheet piling down into the base of the lock chamber, in front of the old downstream gates. We then created a berm, or embankment, of stones on the canal-side of the piling to ensure strength and stability, before pouring a high-strength concrete between the piles and the old downstream gates. Finally, the piles were cut to size. While the first phase of repair works at the dummy lock are complete, there will be return works for the second phase, therefore some of the reinstated surfaces around the sea lock and dummy lock are temporary, not the finished surface. The second phase of works is not anticipated to require a canal closure, and we’ll share more information about this as plans and regulatory permissions progress. Electricity bollard upgrade works at Bellanoch Marina The new electrical bollards at Bellanoch have been installed and are now in operation. Reopening of Crinan Basin car park, lock 10 car park, and the road beside Crinan Basin The car park at lock 10 will be open from this Friday, 26th April, and we hope to reopen the Crinan Basin car park and the lay by alongside Crinan Basin from this Saturday, 27th April. As we’ve mentioned previously, we will place temporary traffic barriers along the section of wall that we removed in the lay by. We will fully reinstate this wall once we have completed the second phase of works at the dummy lock. The temporary road closure alongside Crinan Basin has now finished – this was the final road closure for these winter works. We will provide an update on the reopening of the car parks on our Ongoing Works page on the Scottish Canals website and on the Crinan Canal Facebook page. Keep up to date We remain committed to keeping local residents, businesses and other stakeholders informed of the winter works programme, and continue to do so via: Page 8
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Email updates We circulate email updates regularly throughout the works programme; if you would like to receive these updates, please email CrinanWinterWorks@scottishcanals.co.uk. Your details will not be held for any other purpose and will not be passed on to any third parties. Anyone already signed up to receive Crinan winter works updates will continue to do so unless you advise us otherwise. Community meetings We will continue to hold our quarterly community forum meetings; the next meeting will be Thursday 25th April, at 6.30pm in the Egg Shed, Ardrishaig. Online updates We continue to share updates on the Scottish Canals website. You can find more general information and updates about the works online on our Projects page at bit.ly/CrinanWinterWorks23-24. We’ll share notice of specific road closures, towpath closures, and diversions, on our Ongoing Works page at bit.ly/OngoingWorks_CrinanWinterWorks23-24. We will also share updates on the Crinan Canal Facebook page and the Scottish Canals’ Facebook page. If you have any concerns during this programme of works, you can the local Scottish Canals office on 01546 603210 (09:00 – 17:00, Mon – Fri) or you can email CrinanWinterWorks@scottishcanals.co.uk Alternatively, you can contact Mackenzie Construction on 0141 633 5555 (08:00 – 17:00, Mon - Fri). Yours sincerely, Laurie Piper Head of Customer Experience Scottish Canals Page 9
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