Helensburgh Community Council Update

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Helensburgh Community Council Update
The dust has settled on our community council election process and, unlike other less fortunate
community councils in Argyll & Bute, we ended up with a full house of candidates to fill our 20
vacancies. Because we filled the exact total there was no need to go through an election process and
it did ensure that those who had volunteered their services were not disappointed. We now sit with
a finely balanced male and female membership from across the town. Our inaugural meeting will be
held on Thursday 27 October at the Civic Centre Annex.
There are a number of local issues affecting the town that can be continued now that the electoral
process has been completed and it would be great to continue to receive community support as we
start to reconcile these issues for the benefit of the town.
The completion and operation of the new leisure centre is a major boost to sport and recreation for
the town and the Lomond area. Once the demolition of the old swimming pool is complete, the area
it encloses will be left unfinished with a surface layer of Type 1 rock aggregate, until a decision is
made regarding the development of the site. There is a difference of opinion between the Council
and the community as to whether the site should be used predominantly for retail development, or
the community view that it should be retained as leisure, recreation and tourism space. We will be
taking action to ensure our views are heard and taken account of and we would appreciate
continued community engagement with this position as the situation develops.
The community input to our surveys in past years and the culmination of these into the exhibition in
March this year as the ‘Visions for Helensburgh’, underpins everything we do and we are committed
to realizing community wishes for the town. The litter bin survey we recently conducted has yet to
be actioned; the refurbishment and replanting of the Memorial Garden in Hermitage Park remains a
work in progress; the saga of the Helensburgh to Dumbarton cycleway continues and there is the
positive development of a future role for the town pier. These are just a sample of our concerns for
the town. We shall continue our maintenance of the shrub beds in the square and of course our
monthly beach cleans remain a feature, in conjunction with Plastic Free Helensburgh. We owe an
enormous vote of thanks to our many volunteers who help out on both activities on a regular basis.
We also hope to re-instate the ‘Show and Tell’ day which nosedived previously due to COVID. This
will be an opportunity for all clubs and societies in the town to advertise their particular interests
and encourage membership growth. Hopefully it will also provide information on outlets for the
youth of the town to channel their energies.