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COMMUNITY TO GAIN NEW LAND POWERS.
More than 40 island residents gathered in the Village Hall on Tuesday, 23rd March, to hear all about new powers granted to them by the Scottish Government. Land ownership is currently a burning issue on the island, as CCDC is trying to build much-needed social housing units for the 10 or so young people who are either entirely homeless or are inadequately housed. Attempts to purchase land ...
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In the months since the new Colonsay Community Development Company Board were elected, the main focus has been on ‘getting the house in order’. The Board has worked not only to get to grips with the responsibilities of running the CCDC but also to do a bit of damage control from the admittedly tumultuous handover period. This could not have been successful without the experience and commitment of CCDC’s Business Consultant, Hazel Smith, employed to work with the ...
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At an early December meeting on the island, community reps took the first steps on the road to building affordable social housing at Port Mor. If the project comes to fruition, the new houses will greatly alleviate the plight of several, mostly young islanders who are currently classified as “statutorily homeless” and living year-round in caravans or other unsuitable accommodation.
BACKGROUND
The Sub-Group had examined the Council’s Development Plan, which lists the very limited zones on ...
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With the grant awarded to Colonsay Community Development Company (CCDC) by Bòrd na Gaidhlig a weekend event was held celebrating Gaelic culture, music and language, specifically that of Colonsay & Oransay. The event ran from Friday 9th – Sunday 11th October 2015 and kicked off the local food & drink festival, Connect with Colonsay.
The program consisted of ‘taster’ sessions in the morning – an hour-long seminar with speakers delivering a short talk on Gaelic ...
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COLONSAY AND ORANSAY HERITAGE TRUST are organising another weekend of IT training: Saturday March 12th and Sunday, in Kilchattan School. The format will be the same as last time, with a morning and afternoon class each day and drop in sessions for one to one help. These classes were very popular last time and we would like to encourage as many as possible to come along, whether or not you attended in the autumn. If you have a ...
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On Sunday 19th July the Community Garden Group once more held their “Big Tea”. All were invited to the garden which was kept very busy all afternoon as visitors and islanders alike enjoyed the rare summer sunshine. Pauline and Laura added to the fun, painting faces. There were just enough delicious donated cakes to accompany the tea and coffee, with lots of people coming back for seconds. Willie held an alternative “Orange Shy” as the coconuts didn’t make ...
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Our new fish-farm is taking shape – the command unit came on site a few weeks ago and by great good fortune your acting editor got a chance to visit it; it was so interesting that a special page was created at http://www.colonsay.info/text/Marine%20Harvest.htm At present, the cages are being installed, planning permission is awaited for the shore facility (a modest structure near The Pantry) and moorings are being finalised for the support craft. A total of 4 Colonsay folk ...
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There is good progress – the shorebase application for Planning Permission has gone through, the 60ft service vessel has been built (in Holland?) and is to be named Beinn Eibhin, at least one Colonsay member has attended a successful induction course, the manager has been appointed and moorings for various craft are being finalised. Colonsay looks forward to welcoming this exciting new venture, a fish farm to be operated to the highest environmental standards by a major international company providing ...
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We gather that there are a number of Colonsay applicants for the twelve positions on offer, and that at least one person has been for induction training – which was apparently stimulating and encouraging. The company has applied for permanent moorings and for permission to build a suitable shore-based facility. Things are looking good – this is a world-leading company with excellent credentials and a commitment to the very highest of operational standards. It is not the Colonsay way to ...
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Colonsay Community Council is very concerned about the extraordinary discrepancy concerning freight fares to Colonsay compared with other destinations. It puts all Colonsay enterprise at an insuperable disadvantage and, innocently enough, CCC thought it might have arisen by mistake. Perhaps the Scottish Government had not really intended to single out Colonsay to be especially targeted? Either CCC was wrong or the Government needs to sharpen up on its staff selection procedure as regards spokespersons:
Our ref: 2015/008906
18 March 2015
Thank ...
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Unfortunately, progress has been delayed. Most of the topographical information is complete but information concerning businesses, beauty spots and the calendar of events is still to be collated and uploaded. The Colonsay Tourism Marketing Group is amazingly busy working on the Festival of Sprinf, Connect with Colonsay and a raft of other initiatives but the App is a priority and will shortly see the light of day.
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Colonsay Community Development Company had called an E.G.M. because the majority of Board members had resigned, leaving a bare quorum and an administrative problem which could not be resolved. The EGM was held in the village Hall on Tuesday 25th February and in advance of the meeting a substantial number of shareholders had been enrolled, bringing the total to something more than forty persons. The meeting was well-attended, almost fifty people were present, the majority of whom were shareholders.
Keith Rutherford ...
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Representatives of the company visited Colonsay and gave an update on the situation – the farm should be installed in July 2015 and there should be “fish in the water” during August. The team includes David MacGillivray, Area Manager of a large area in the West of Scotland and responsible for about 30,000 tonnes of salmon per year, assisted by Karen Lumley-Holmes who works on Planning matters and Chris Reid, the Environmental Manager. A meeting was held with the Community ...
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CHUG met recently with CalMac and looks forward to meeting with Marine Harvest as newcomers to the harbour later this year. Details were circulated to members who missed the meeting, and we publish here just a few salient points:
1. It was noted that an AIS mast has been fitted at Colonsay, so that the remote Harbour Master (and CHUG members) can monitor vessels in the Colonsay vicinity.
2. In the event of any problems, CHUG members should communicate with ...