I was at my first surgery of the new year, and the decade in Tarbert today.

I heard numerous concerns raised about local and national issues. These included concerns of planning regulations possibly holding back housing development, local council budget cuts brought on by a reduction of the block grant from the Scottish Government, burdensome regulations thrust upon our fishing industry, planned intrusive local pylon positioning, and slow internet along with sub-par mobile phone signal particularly being experienced by many farmers outside of Tarbert.

We will always face very different challenges than the urban populations of Scotland and having a population that is more dispersed will mean it will take more resources to deliver services, but this is no reason for these essential services not to be delivered. We in rural Scotland are constantly treated as a backwater by at times a seemly disinterested and central belt obsessed Scottish Government. This is particularly true for Argyll and Bute so it is essential that governments and utility companies alike step up to the plate and give our rural constituency and my hard pressed council ward the funding and recognition we deserve.

Cllr Alastair Redman