HELENSBURGH’S Gaelic club could be set to receive a financial boost – if enough members of the public back plans to promote the language in the area.

The club is on a shortlist of 14 projects hoping to receive a share of £15,000 set aside to promote the growth of the language in Argyll and Bute.

Members of the public are being invited to vote for their preferred idea as part of a new ‘participatory budgeting’ project being trialled across the local authority area.

The club provides the only opportunity to learn Gaelic in Helensburgh and Lomond, and wants to provide three blocks of ten weekly sessions for learners of all abilities, combining conversation sessions with web-based learning between classes.

Argyll and Bute Council secured the cash from the Scottish Government to let communities decide how to strengthen and grow Gaelic in the area.

And the results of the pilot exercise are likely to shape how the council adopts the ‘participatory budgeting’ approach in future.

The projects competing alongside Helensburgh Gaelic Club for a share of the cash include Gaelic drama workshops for teenagers, a youth club for Gaelic-speaking children, and a feasibility study for a stand-alone Gaelic school in Oban.

Donald MacVicar, the council’s head of culture and community services, said: “This is an exciting pilot scheme for Argyll and Bute. The response from local communities has been very encouraging and a range of ideas have been put forward. Voting is quick and easy via the ABPB  website and I would encourage as many people as possible, whether you are a Gaelic speaker or not, to log on and vote. This pilot exercise will help shape how funding is rolled out for other community projects in future.”

Anyone who lives in Argyll and Bute and is aged 16 or over can vote online and choose which projects will receive a share of the funding at www.abpb.co.uk. Voting closes on May 6.