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If you are on Facebook, search Argyll & Bute Council Weathering The Storm for more info and photo's.
Power was restored to the wee village around 2pm today (Tuesday 26th).The generator that was delivered to Abbeyfield Residential Home yesterday after noon was about to be towed away (sorry for the poor photo quality ,I must have knocked the camera settings),but it came too late as the residents and two other elderly locals who were using the Abbeyfield facilities were decanted to accomodation at Machrihanish airbase.
It had been a long 112hrs outage of power and caused a lot of misery to many old and young but thankfully we all got through this bleak period.
Well done to all involved in restoring power to areas like our village Carradale and hopefully all the others soon.Heated words may have been said at times but we now understand the amount of destruction caused and the weather conditions the workers had to endure prolonged getting power up and running.It was good to see the communities working together with the other organisations and emergency services in looking after the elderly and frail.Hopefully we wont see another disaster like this for a long time.
Other thanks go to Sheena and Matt Ramsay and her assistants Joanna McMillan,Morag Burns,Moira Foreman at Carradale Primary School for laying on hot food yesterday not knowing that the power was going to be restored.This all came about as we were notified a snack bar was arriving in the village early Monday morning,but due to issues this did not materialise,a let down for all whom were awaiting to get a nice hot meal.Our own local Coastguard and Fire & Rescue Service had a busy time with callouts and assistance with radio communications,Carradales Forest Rangers and many others contributed to make sure all were well and safe.A Big thanks to all.
I believe compensation will be paid for loss of power and the level of that will be decided by the regulator.No compensation will be made for loss of food/freezer/fridge etc.that will need to be claimed from your own home contents insurance.I'll update all further when I receive more info.
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![[The Carradale Goat]](../kintyrepics/powerloss2.jpg)
Press Release 26 March 2013
Working together in the face of adversity - Kintyre on the way back to business
ARGYLL and Bute Council, along with the communities of Kintyre and the islands and other agencies, is working hard to overcome the impact of severe weather in the area since Friday 22 March.
The combination of high winds and heavy snow – with drifts of up to 15 feet in places – meant that the A83 became blocked by snow at Clachan and power supplies were disrupted across the whole peninsula and surrounding islands.
Since Friday, staff from the local authority, Strathclyde Police, NHS Highland and Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) have been working closely together to make sure people are safe, open the road, restore power and bring vital supplies to people in the affected communities – battling in atrocious weather conditions and with a number of challenges to overcome.
These challenges included high winds blowing snow back as it was cleared, low lying power cables and issues with phone signals.
The biggest issues were faced, of course, by people in some of Argyll and Bute’s most rural and remote communities who had no power, limited supplies and in some cases were cut off from the rest of the area.
But some creative solutions were found with everyone involved working together to make sure that recovery could get well under way as soon as possible.
These included special ferry sailings, organised by the council and CalMac, to quickly bring SSE staff, vehicles and generators to Kintyre, with additional trips carrying more generators, fuel and food supplies.
Arrangements were made with local companies and supermarkets to enable local people to have some access to food and other essentials.
The safety of vulnerable and older people in the community was paramount and a dedicated hotline was set up so that people with concerns were still able to make contact with council and health professionals.
Staff visited and telephoned vulnerable customers wherever possible to make sure that they were safe, well and warm. Council staff were joined by volunteers and local residents to provide hot food as often as possible – and over 1,000 meals were cooked for vulnerable and older people in the area.
Keeping in touch with people was also challenging but along with the dedicated hotline in Campbeltown, everyone worked together to use every possible means of reaching people in affected communities – sharing information and resources and using the internet and social media to provide essential information about schools, where hot food was available and progress updates on fuel and power.
People across Kintyre also pulled together to help each other out in the difficult circumstances they have been dealing with, in an impressive display of community spirit. Those with coal fires provided heat, those who could offered food, and everyone made sure to look out for vulnerable and elderly relatives, friends and neighbours.
Today, Tuesday 26 March, Kintyre is getting back in business again. The A83 has been fully open since Monday night and SSE is restoring the electricity supply across the area.
Making sure that people have hot food is still a priority as the area beings to return to normal. Council staff have been liaising with local communities to provide soup and sandwiches in rural communities and in Campbeltown. SSE have assisted by providing catering vans which have been at different locations in Kintyre. The council has liaised with local supermarkets to ensure that food supplies are restocked.
Local roads have been opened and council teams continue to work on the network, ensuring that it is cleared and opened for business once more.
Argyll and Bute Council Leader, James Robb, paid tribute to the staff from different agencies who are working extremely hard to ensure that Kintyre is back in business.
He said: “What Kintyre has been experiencing is unprecedented severe weather and people from elsewhere who have seen photographs of the snow at Clachan have been absolutely amazed.
“It has certainly been a challenging time for people in the Kintyre and islands communities and all the agencies involved in dealing with this have been very aware of the impact on people. Everyone has been working very hard together to get the road open, to get the lights back on and most importantly to make sure that everyone is safe.
“Our own staff, and those from the police, NHS and SSE, have worked long and tirelessly, often in atrocious weather, to help get Kintyre and the islands up and running again. They have been supported by resources from Scotland Transerv and local companies which has been fantastic.
“Local voluntary groups have also done a sterling job in rallying round and making sure that people are safe, warm and well fed.
“I’d like to thank everyone involved and also to thank the communities of Kintyre and the islands for their patience as we work together to bring life back to normal as quickly as possible.”
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