I have been very busy recently working hard to address every issue raised by my constituents. I am still receiving lots of justifiable complaints about the terrible condition of Mansefield Rd in Port Ellen and the hospital road in Bowmore. With long overdue road works going on across Islay and the rest of the Kintyre and Islands ward it's only fair that these roads are not ignored.
The condition of the Bruchladdich toilets continues to be raised by local residents as painting and much needed other maintenance desperately needs to be done. Having our facilities in this condition is not only unpleasant for all those who use them but it's a terrible advert for Bruchladdich with so many tourists visiting that village and having to use the toilets. Since contacting the appropriate department I have been informed that repairs and maintenance are planned for the Bruchladdich toilets.
While checking in on the progress of pothole repairs that I had previously requested I noticed that some of the recent street lighting repairs has left a lot to be desired while a quick fix is better than nothing many of these short term street lighting fixes need to be looked at again.
I have been speaking to the hardworking front line BT Open-reach staff across Islay who are busily expanding our Islands internet capabilities. I have contacted BT to make sure that the recent issues with phone lines in some local households are not a result of the broadband upgrades.
There has been progress with local housing associations after pointing out that many of their tenants are having trouble with mold in some of their housing measures are now being implemented to to rectify the problem. I was happy to hear that the ACHA's AHFA team have fixed gate latches on four of their houses at Cnoc Na Faire in Port Ellen after I raised this with them a few weeks ago.
As well as attending the latest council meeting in Kilmorry I met with Depute Leader of the Council and Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee member Cllr Gary Mulvaney and spoke at length about the challenges facing Kintyre and Islands when it comes to fixing our crumbling infrastructure alongside our growing heaving industrial output due to the success of our distilleries on Islay and Jura.
Later that day I spoke directly to my constituents in Tarbert after a number of locals some of whom are business owners contacted me about the recent flood of sewage on Harbour Street due to blocked drains. Scottish Water were coming under fire from locals because their slow response and for their lack of progress in addressing numerous drainage and sewage problems that are happening on an ever increasing basis.
Having raw sewage running through roads and pavements is something you may be unfortunate enough to come across in a third world country but not a modern industrialised first world nation. I have made my anger about these poor conditions Tarbert residents are living under when I contacted Scottish Water very clear. A long term solution to needs to be put in place by Scottish Water.
As I said both before and after I was elected a Councillor's worth should not be weighed solely on the quantity of meetings they attend in Kilmory but their visibility, accessibility and hard work. One year since being elected I'm delighted to have stood by my word.
Cllr Alastair Redman
