Tag Archives: Annabel Goldie

MId Argyll Pool Board and staff build for the future

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Cameron, Alastair, Patrick, Mid Argyll Pool

Working in partnership with the Council, winning a grant to appoint a Business Development Manager, Continue reading →

Conservatives sprinkle the Goldie dust on Argyll – but are they a team?

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Annabel Goldie at Mid Argyll Swimming Pool Copyright Lynda Henderson

Currently sweeping through Argyll is Annabel Goldie, Leader of the Scottish Conservatives at Holyrood Continue reading →

Nicola Sturgeon shows the calibre of real leadership

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On a day of apologies, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon Continue reading →

Council success in £300,000 each for Bowmore and Dunoon town centres

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Town centres in Islay’s Bowmore and Cowal’s Dunoon are to receive an equal share of £600,000 Continue reading →

Bid for an Argyll share of the £60million budget allocation to regenerate Scotland’s town centres

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During the inter-party negotiations leading up to the recent passing of the Scottish Government’s budget, the Scottish Conservatives won £234million of concessions. Among this figure is £60million set aside for Scottish town centre regeneration initiatives.

The party has now launched a website to encourage communities across Scotland to bid for a share of this £60million Town Centre Regeneration Fund.

Speaking at the launch of the website, Annabel Goldie MSP, Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party Leader, said: ‘Our Town Centre Regeneration Fund, which we first advocated in January 2007, will transform communities across the country. This is £60million of new money given to our town centres, not money taken from local authority budgets. The cash will be essential in helping businesses and local communities fight Gordon Brown’s economic downturn.

‘Local communities the length and breadth of Scotland are suffering as a result of Labour’s recession. This only compounds the decline we have seen in recent years of many town centres, which have lost the pivotal status they once had. Scottish Conservatives are asking the Scottish Government to help them and build them back up, because town and village centres are the very lifeblood of those local communities.

‘There is no doubt small towns need a bustling high street to maintain their distinctive character. In addition to cutting or abolishing business rates for over 150,000 small businesses across Scotland – another Scottish Conservative policy in action – the Town Centre Regeneration Fund is a great way to achieve that aim. I urge everyone who wants to see their local high street transformed to log on to the website and submit their ideas today’.

Spread across Scotland, £60milion will not go far so towns of any size with ideas on how to regenerate theirt centres or high streets would be advised to get their bids in early and persuasively.

What is impressive is the speed with which the Scottish Conservatives have translated their initiative into action to get the money moving into regeneration schemes.

Jamie McGrigor MSP predicts public anger at loss of Government budget and Councillor Mulvaney tallies consequences for local government

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Commenting on yesterday’s vote in the Scottish Parliament where Labour, Lib Dem and Green MSPs combined to vote down the Scottish Government’s budget, Highlands & Islands Conservative MSP Jamie McGrigor has said: ‘The public in the Highlands and Islands will rightly be very angry with and frustrated at those parties that voted against the Scottish budget.

‘At a time of economic recession, MSPs should have been able to act constructively – as the Scottish Conservatives did- and negotiate to allow the budget to be passed and therefore money passed to our public services timeously. (Editor: now here’s a word rarely seen and a fun addition to the vocabulary: means ‘in good time’)

‘This is an extremely serious situation and, as my leader Annabel Goldie said, Labour’s and the Lib Dems’ actions are grossly irresponsible and frankly pathetic- it is political posturing of the worst kind which could cost Scotland £1.8 billion and will only increase uncertainty during Labour’s recession.

‘As Communities Spokesman myself, I had backed strongly our policy to spend £60 million on the regeneration of town centres; that would have been very valuable to places like Oban, Campbeltown, Dunoon, Rothesay in  my native Argyll and scores of other towns across my region of the Highlands & Islands’.

Mr McGrigor’s comments are among many expressions of outrage sent to for Argyll from all corners.

His colleague in local government, Councilor Gary Mulvaney, Conservative Group Leader on Argyll & Bute council and parliamentary candidate said: ‘Labour and the Liberal Democrats have delivered a massive tax bombshell to local government finance.

‘By voting the budget down, they have saddled Scottish councils with a cut of £660m. This means a £359 increase on Band D Council Tax average for those in Argyll & Bute, leading to an annual Band D record high of £1537.

‘All this comes on top of the 60% increase in Council Tax that we had to cope with when the Lib Dem’s and Labour were running Scotland, and one year after progress was made when Scottish Conservatives voted for the Scottish Government’s Council Tax freeze’.

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