TEN YEARS AGO
Friday November 29, 2013
Onshore fish farm plans go to public hearing in Tayinloan
Proposals for a massive onshore fish farm at Rhunahaorine Point near Tayinloan will be the focus of a public hearing on Monday.
Argyll and Bute Council’s planning, protective services and licensing committee will hold it in Tayinloan Village Hall from 10.45am.
More than 50 objections have been lodged against the proposed development for a 225-metre long, eight-metre wide and 12-metre high building at the 16-acre site of a former fish farm.
Among the reasons for objection are the “industrial scale” building is inappropriate for a coastal area of panoramic beauty and concerns about the site access from the A83.
West Kintyre Community Council has not objected to the plan.
Andrew Robertson, director of Dunkeld-based FishFrom, has said the £18 million project would create 20 jobs and be the largest of its kind in the world, producing 3,000 tonnes of fish annually.
As reported previously in the Courier, FishFrom has plans for a much bigger fish farm, employing 120, at the former Machrihanish airbase. However, that development would depend on Tayinloan going ahead.
Mr Robertson said the “close containment, re-circulation aquaculture system” proposed for Tayinloan would mean no waste streams or effluent and no threat of sea-lice, seals, escapes and pollution.
Accumulated waste would be used as fertiliser.
Drumlemble pupils visit heritage museum
Taking photos and making sketches were just some of the activities pupils at Drumlemble Primary School enjoyed during a recent visit to Campbeltown Heritage Centre.
The pupils from classes primary 1-3 visited the centre as part of their social studies topic.
While there, they saw a huge variety of artefacts which people in the past used in their every day lives.
Match not to be missed
Pam McFadyen and Heather McFadyen just laugh when asked how much they know or care about football.
It is not a lot.
However, tomorrow (Saturday), they will have to pick a side to shout on when they join the hundreds of supporters expected for the keenly-awaited Scottish Amateur Cup fourth round match between Campbeltown Pupils and Carradale.
Despite their long histories, the two sides have never met in the cup before and the clash has set Kintyre buzzing.
The rivalry will be in sharp focus in the McFadyen families. Pam’s husband, Billy, managing director of McFadyens Contractors Campbeltown Ltd, sponsors the Pupils and is a keen follower of the club, often travelling many miles to their away games.
Heather’s husband, Calum – Billy’s cousin – is managing director of McFadyens Transport Ltd and sponsors Carradale and son, Campbell, 18, plays for the side.
“I don’t really understand what is going on in football,” admitted Heather, “but I will be at Kintyre Park for this game. It should be really exciting.”
Pam said: “It’s created a lot of interest in the town, and there has been plenty of banter between the supporters of the two sides.
“Billy’s really looking forward to it and, while he is a big Pupils supporter, he will also watch Carradale games.
“Our son David is also a Carradale player, but he is in Glasgow and won’t be playing.”
Both ladies said their husbands have long been keen backers of football in Kintyre, making donations for young teams’ strips as well as sponsoring the Pupils and Carradale.
“They like to support the community,” said Pam. “Heather and I have gone to matches before but slipped away for a coffee, but we are determined to watch all of this game.”
TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO
Friday December 4, 1998
Geese win Largie wind farm battle
A 25-turbine wind farm will not be erected at Largie Estate near Tayinloan.
After years of waiting, the final decision on the fate of the application has been made by the Secretary of State for Scotland.
A spokesperson for Argyll and Bute Council said this week that the council had received notification from the Secretary of State that he had refused the Largie wind farm application.
Councillor Robert Currie of Mid Kintyre told the Courier: “We’ve waited a long time for this and I think that as it’s taken so long, it must be the right decision.”
The Planning and Building Control Committee of the former Argyll and Bute District Council approved the application back in July 1995.
But this was against the recommendations of the council’s planning officials and in the face of growing objections.
Objections were made by local people who were concerned about the visual impact and petitions were signed against the wind farm.
But Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) objected on the grounds of fears for the safety and wellbeing of Greenland white-fronted geese.
An EU directive on protected birds states that wind farms can only be given the all-clear if it can be proved that they will not affect the birds.
But the area at Rhunahaorine Point is used by the geese for feeding in winter, and at dawn and dusk they fly from the point over the ridge to resting sites on the upland hill.
SNH and the RSPB were worried that wind farms could cause disturbance or even death to the birds.
TriGen carried out a risk assessment on the proposed site, which claimed risk was negligible, but SNH was not convinced the wind farm would not harm the birds.
It said TriGen’s study was based on goose populations in the Netherlands and could not be fully applied to Kintyre.
SNH also said that even an increase in goose deaths of only five per cent could have a dramatic effect on breeding figures.
FIFTY YEARS AGO
Thursday December 6, 1973
That new public holiday
The Scottish Home and Health Department’s enquiries have disclosed no unanimity on the appropriate date for an additional public holiday.
Local authorities however may find it useful to know that a substantial body of opinion appears to favour Boxing Day, 26th December.
In particular, of the majority of town and county councils which have replied to the Circular, over 80 per cent (including the Corporations of Glasgow and Edinburgh) are in favour of the holiday being observed on 26th December; about 10 per cent are in favour of 2nd January.
Representations received directly from commerce and industry indicate that, while 26th December appears to be suitable for most interests concerned with retail trade and commerce, there is no one day which would be generally suitable for industry.
A number of local authorities in replying indicated that industry in their areas would not necessarily wish to observe the holiday on the day favoured by the local authority.
While there are no powers available to the government or to the local authorities to prescribe the number of public holidays or the days on which they should be observed, local authorities, if they have not already done so, will no doubt wish to bring their views on this matter to the attention of local interests as soon as possible.
So whether Campbeltown Town Council decides to have the public holiday on 26th December or some other date, there is no compulsion on any industry, factory or business in the town to observe this date provided a holiday is granted in lieu.
Editor’s note: In Scotland, Hogmanay was always the major mid-winter holiday; Christmas Day was first made a public holiday in 1958 in Scotland. It wasn’t until 1974 that Boxing Day became a holiday.
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO
Saturday December 1, 1923
Fishermen in Peril
During the terrific storm which swept over on Saturday, two Girvan boats narrowly escaped being swamped.
Willie Mitchell, of the Triumph, and Dan Murray, of the St Clare, with their crews, left Tarbert on Saturday after herring fishing at Loch Fyne, bound for Girvan.
On nearing Pladda, they encountered a heavy gale blowing west-north-west, and a blinding snow and sleet storm.
The sea was running high and, in the thickness, the boats lost sight of one another, and the crew of the St Clare continued their course to Girvan, believing that their companions of the Triumph had been lost.
When the Triumph got into the channel, the skipper ran before the wind into Whiting Bay, landing in safety.
On arriving at Girvan, the St Clare had a trying experience in getting over the bar, and oil had to be thrown on the water to effect a landing.
The crew reported that the Triumph was missing, and the Girvan lifeboat crew stood by to render assistance if required. Telephonic communications were sent to Maidens to be on the look-out.
The relatives of the men were in a state of great anxiety, but their fears were allayed by the receipt of a telephone message from Arran.
The Triumph arrived home on Sunday morning.
