Your letters to the Advertiser: April 26, 2018

To have your say on any local topic, just email your views to editorial@helensburghadvertiser.co.uk with 'Letter' in the subject line of your message.

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Argyll and Bute Council are giving people the opportunity to comment on the proposals for the waterfront development at drop-in events at the Victoria Halls.

But we all know that the majority of people don’t do that, for several reasons – one of which is possibly that we never hear detailed outcome of these sessions and it always ends up with no significant changes.

I have written some comments to give an idea of some of my concerns, and some possible solutions – which would also benefit the council.

First, the council are offering a new swimming pool complex which includes a large and small pool and fitness suite. The only new addition is a “Party Room”.

There will be a coffee shop, but actually it is only served by vending machines. So in other words little difference to what we have already apart from bigger.

The new complex will be at the far end of the pier car park, and the front end of the car park site is designated for ‘commercial’ development. We understand that the council really need to try and get some income from this development.

The car park which holds over 500 cars just now will be reduced to around 250 cars with only a drop off zone for bus tours. This will have the effect of Helensburgh being blacklisted by tour companies, and consequently less income for existing shops.

There is also a lack of parking in town even now, so with 250 fewer spaces it will be a nightmare.

The existing skate park will be scrapped and nothing put in its place.

I understand the need for the council to generate some income and wish to suggest some alternatives which will provide income for the council as well as improving and adding facilities to Helensburgh.

First of all, a proper coffee shop in the new complex is an essential and it should be situated where people will get a good view of the water as well as the pools.

If the council do not want to take on the issues of running it and providing staff then I suggest they lease it and get income without the problems of additional employees.

There is not one coffee shop in town which is not making a profit, so this is a safe bet.

Second, if children don’t swim, there is nothing else in this complex for them. There is also nowhere for families with young children to go on rainy days.

During the Winter Festival a couple of years ago, there were trampolines on the grass by the pier toilets. The charge was £5 for five minutes and there were four children to each trampoline – so £20 every five minutes. They never had a vacancy all day long.

Admittedly that would not be the norm if trampolines were available all day, every day, but the demand at Gravity at Braehead is huge.

We have an area around Cove, Balloch, Alexandria and Dumbarton where there is almost nothing for children of all ages, and I am sure this would bring a good income for the council.

Again, if they don’t want the responsibility, they could contract it out to someone else, and it would still bring them an income.

Crazy golf, climbing walls, dry flume slides, or a small soft play area for very young children would also go down well with families and all would bring income, especially if combined with good coffee shop facilities.

As much as possible this should all be incorporated into one building, three or four floors high, because as much car parking space as possible will be required.

Patricia Lawson

Via email

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Helensburgh has had more than its fair share of famous innovators and entrepreneurs in all walks of life.

Helensburgh Community Council (HCC) is now looking for the next generation: those looking to strike out on their own and meet new challenges. Why not you?

To launch its ‘John Logie Baird Innovation Hub’ in Helensburgh Library, HCC is holding two free taster events, in the library, on Saturday, May 12.

At these events HCC members will explain the ‘hub’ concept, including how to develop your new ideas and products, showing what the library has to offer you, explaining the help and support available to you, and answering your questions.

Innovation hubs such as these give great value for money. So what’s on offer?

First, a special way of working that is much more than hot-desking: team working, communication, cross fertilisation, collaboration, co-operation, networking and sharing ideas.

Then there is professional business advice on the law, sources of funds, accounts, sales, design, ‘route to market’, health and safety and human resources.

Hubs provide access to business support, such as from Business Gateway and the local Chamber of Commerce. And there will be mentors available for you to learn from and to lean on.

Do you have the drive and ambition to take your ideas from the drawing board to the marketplace? If so then HCC believes its John Logie Baird Innovation Hub could be the place for you.

Event times on May 12 are 9.45am and 1.45pm. Places are limited so reservations should be made soon.

Contact Tariq Durrani (tsdurrani@gmail.com) or Nigel Millar (millarnc@btinternet.com) to find out more.

Nigel Millar

Helensburgh Community Council

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I ATTENDED the meeting of the Friends of Geilston in Cardross Golf Club last Tuesday evening.

It was a pleasure to see such a large turnout in support of this neglected local treasure. The Friends did a good job of laying out the dilemma they and the property face.

The property is owned by The National Trust for Scotland (NTS). On their web site they describe it as “a magical 200-year-old walled garden by the River Clyde with adventure playground and floral mini-maze”.

The glaring omission in this is the house, which has been neglected by NTS since the property was donated to the nation by Miss Elizabeth Hendry in 1991.

The Friends are at a cross-roads in their support for the property and face some stark choices.

From the presentation and discussion at the meeting, I suggest the following.

The Friends should become a charity and this charity should take ownership of the property. NTS should restore the house to its original condition when it was donated, and should have no further part in managing the property.

The existing Friends board should become the owners through the charity. By this simple step, enthusiastic support becomes ownership which will transform the relationship of the local community and the property.

With a restored house, a liability will become an asset, and can be put to use generating income.

The clash between the two cultures of the NTS and the Friends will no longer be a source of frustration and dismay in the local community.

If the property has a future, this will be due to it serving the needs of the local community in all of their hopes and aspirations, not the dreary forecasts of Edinburgh bean counters. The locals will plant beans and take pride in their growth, flowering and harvest.

The garden may be magical but it comes with a £95,000 annual price tag. The money pays the wages of the gardening staff.

The Friends could look west at the example of the Friends of Hermitage Park, who have agreed to provide £112,000 in volunteer labour to maintain the Park when construction ends.

Geilston could be maintained by the same means. (I regret any implication that the current staff are not appreciated, but we need to address the hard economic realities.) This would eliminate the financial drag of the £95,000 overhead.

Part of the property should be converted into a café and/or shop. The ingredients for a cup of coffee cost 14p. Any high street outlet will charge £3. This is a high profit business. The Friends should contact equivalent properties in Scotland to learn from their experience.

Ownership is a big step in the relationship between the Friends and the property. If the property is serving the needs of Cardross and the west of Scotland, the venture will succeed as Miss Hendry wished. Local enthusiasm and support is the key.

John Black

6 Woodhollow House, Helensburgh

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Recently more evidence has emerged about the SNP’s mismanagement of the NHS, with a health board handing out contracts without any arrangements to ensure value for money.

This follows revelations that health boards had been using charitable donations to pay their running costs.

We also saw additional evidence that Scotland’s economy is lagging behind our international competitors with employment continuing to fall and unemployment continuing to rise. This is the same set of statistics showed that employment in the UK as a whole had reached a record high.

Our NHS is failing and our economy is lagging behind the rest of the UK because the separatists are obsessed with securing a second independence referendum.

We can see this in their depute leadership contest with the candidates falling over themselves to predict the earliest date for another referendum.

With the SNP continuing to focus on independence at the expense of governing Scotland, Only the Scottish Conservatives can force this government to get back to the day job of managing our public services.

Cllr Alastair Redman

(Conservative, Kintyre and the Islands)