For many more years than I wish to remember, I have continued to receive ongoing complaints from constituents and others relating to the Faslane peace camp.

Over the past few years, most of these complaints have come from Rhu and Shandon Community Council and relate to planning and building control issues.

We have seen buildings being erected without planning permission or building control warrants. We see additional caravans, vehicles and even a large boat appearing on site.

Although the community council continues to raise these issues with me, I have to put my hands up and apologise and remind them that I cannot give them the answers they are looking for as I am barred from discussing enforcement issues and confidential information held by the council relating to the peace camp due to the need for me to comply with the councillors’ code of conduct.

Although this is frustrating for the community council, it is also frustrating for me.

The community council believes that the council operates double standards as it appears that those at the Peace Camp can do as they wish, whereas the council would come down like a ton of bricks on any other local residents who tried to do what the peace camp does.

In an attempt to try and provide the community council with information on the issues that they raise with me, I recently submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the council for copies of briefing notes and other material relating to the peace camp.

The only information that was released to me as a result of my FOI was a briefing note that had a large section of it redacted. I then requested a review of that decision.

Although I expected the original decision would be upheld by the appropriate executive director, I was surprised that he partly upheld my request and allowed one more line from the redacted briefing note to be released.

I will now be taking an appeal to the Information Commissioner in an attempt to have the council’s decision overturned which I have managed to do in the past.

My understanding is that I am the only councillor who continues to challenge decisions of the council by submitting FOI requests.

It may not make me popular within the council but, as I remind people, I was not elected to be popular within the council.