Coastal town is reaping rewards of its harvest, writes Nan Spowart
It is obvious from the number of fantastic fish restaurants in the town that Oban is the seafood capital of Scotland. The area has a long association with the bounty of sea – the name Oban comes from the Gaelic for Little Bay – and piles of discarded sea shells have been found in late Bronze Age cave dwelling.
But the fishing industry in Oban has had to survive environmental and economic fluctuations over the years. The herring fleets declined drastically and many locals lost their culinary connection with the sea – so it was not that long ago that the only time a Scot would eat a West Coast mussel would be on holiday in Spain.
Today, thankfully all that has changed and people now go to Oban from across the globe specifically to sample the diversity of the harvest from in around the Little Bay. This includes oysters, lobsters, crabs scallops, monkfish, squid and much more besides. Continental Europe still takes a huge amount of the shellfish – providing a vital income to the area – but now local chefs make sure they get the best of the day’s catch.
Oban is of course about more than seafood and is seen as an increasingly attractive place to live or to visit.
“Oban is an exciting place to be at the moment and we are trying to raise the public profile of the town to both national and international level,” says Derek Connery, of business group Bid4Oban.
The town is already on the map as the Gateway to the Isles and the Cal Mac ferry services operating from the harbour are also a lifeline for the residents of the nearby islands. However, as Connery points out, Oban is also a destination
in itself.
One recent draw for visitors, which Bid 4 Oban helped organise and support was the Skerryvore concert at Mossfield Stadium this year which attracted 6,500 people, 4,000 of them from outside the town.
It was so successful that it has just been announced that a similar event, called Oban Live, will be held next year over two days on May 13 and 14.
The Winter Festival, run and organised by volunteers on the last weekend in November, is also attracting people.
“It is a phenomenal result to have people travelling here in the last weekend of November,” said Connery.
To improve the look of the town,
Bid4Oban runs a shop frontage scheme where owners or landlords can apply for an improvement grant of up to £1,000. It also gave the council half the cost of a new “green machine” to keep the streets cleaner. Other initiatives by the organisation include augmenting the hanging baskets provided by the council as well as adding to the town’s Christmas lights.
Meanwhile the “Oban pound” a voucher scheme aimed at encouraging people to spend their money locally has been a big success with £16,000 worth of vouchers bought in 18 months.
“There is a lot happening,” says Connery. “We want people think Oban is one of the friendliest towns to visit.”
An important economic and social centre for the Highlands and Islands, a sum of £18.9 million has been allocated for investment in infrastructure aimed at attracting new businesses through the Scottish Government’s Tax Incremental Finance initiative (TIF).
Argyll and Bute Council made one of three successful bids to be taken forward out of a total of 18.
Work has already begun on a new business park around the Oban airport site, part of the Lorn Arc project which covers Oban, Dunstaffnage, Dunbeg, North Connel and Barcaldine.
This follows a council investment of £600,000 for a new events space with views over the bay, power and Wi-fi.
A range of environmental, transport, access and lighting improvements are also under way in Station Square, George Street and Queen’s Park Place at a cost of £2m and while the work will cause some disruption, business group Bid4Oban believe the changes will be a real boost to the area.
“It is going to be fantastic and will create a real buzz about the town,” says Connery.
The new lights on both squares will tie in with lights already installed at the iconic McCaig’s Tower.
Concludes Connery: “We’ll be able to paint the town red!”
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