WORKS in Oban’s Argyll Square have been completed nearly £7,000 under budget, a report has revealed.
Improvements carried out at the town centre site include the removal of an old electric box which was no longer in use, and the removal and replacement of old flagpoles.
New benches were ordered and a lectern installed, with the total cost revealed to be £31,344 against a budget of £38,000.
The report has been compiled for a meeting of Argyll and Bute Council’s Oban Lorn and the Isles (OLI) area committee on Wednesday, September 9.
A motion by Councillor Amanda Hampsey (Reform UK, Oban South and the Isles), seconded by Councillor Julie McKenzie (Independent, Oban North and Lorn) requested the report in March, and was unanimously agreed by the area committee.
Executive director Kirsty Flanagan said in the document: “During 2021/22 £250,000 of place-based investment funding was allocated by the policy and resources committee for works at Gibraltar Street, Oban.
“The above was completed under budget by £38,000 and it was agreed by members at an OLI area business day that this surplus budget could also be used for works required at Argyll Square, Oban.
“The agreed improvement works were refurbishment/replacement of benches, replacement flagpoles, refurbishment of monument, removal/replacement of electricity box, removal of decaying trees and new tree/shrub planting [and] maintenance and refurbishment of railings/bollards and paving.
“All works are complete with the improvement works being delivered within budget. To date the works relating to Argyll Square have been included within the overall Gibraltar Street project and reported to [the] policy and resources committee as part of the overall monitoring of the capital programme.
“Works at Argyll Square, Oban have been delivered at a cost of £31,344 in comparison to budget of £38,000.”
