For information about the development of the projects in the five towns, you can access details of the Outline Business Cases put forward here.
In early 2010, Argyll and Bute Council appointed Ekos, a leading independent UK consultancy specialising in economic and social development, to carry out socio-economic baseline reports and perception surveys for each of the 5 towns in the CHORD programme.
The studies were carried out throughout 2010, and the final reports are now available.
The socio-economic baselines provide an overview of each area, looking at population, employment base, business base, claimant count (Job Seekers Allowance), property base etc.
The perception studies were carried out with a range of residents, businesses and visitors. The idea behind these surveys is to obtain a baseline position for each town, so that changes in future public perception can be measured.