It was great to catch up with my constituents in Bowmore recently while being out and about checking up on road and street lighting conditions. I was also looking into complaints raised by my constituents about the condition of some of the ACHA housing.

While there has been some overall improvement in the condition of some local roads, many large holes are still going unrepaired. Having looked at the some of the street lighting I am very unimpressed with the quick fix cable tying of rusty street lighting. This in my opinion is unsafe and needs to be fixed without delay by our roads and street lighting department.

I was shocked at the condition of some of the older ACHA housing. In some cases the windows are so rotten you could push your fingers through their frames. The doors are falling to pieces and as a result water is seeping in at numerous places causing damp and mould problems.

There is no doubt that the external insulation that was recently installed across Islay was very well received by many ACHA tenants. In some cases however it has been placed on the housing in a crooked and rushed manner. Many locals have correctly pointed out to myself that installing external insulation on houses without replacing the antiquated and dilapidated windows and doors is putting the cart before the horse. These problems that I am sure will be rectified in a timely manner are by no mean the fault of ACHA's terrific and hard working front line staff. It is likely a central management issue.

I will continue to push for solutions to all the aforementioned problems and any others brought to my attention by my constituents.

Cllr Alastair Redman