THE list of Helensburgh and Lomond candidates for next month's local election contained one surprise omission: that of Helensburgh Central independent Vivien Dance.

Cllr Dance has been one of the town centre ward's four councillors since 2007, but had kept her cards close to her chest until the full list of nominated candidates was published last week.

Speaking to the Advertiser about her decision, Cllr Dance said she planned to devote more of her time to the other community initiatives in which she is already involved.

Cllr Dance said: "Having served ten years as the elected representative for Helensburgh Central I am moving on to new ventures which will allow me to give more time to community projects in Helensburgh for the benefit of the town and its residents.

"I have always believed that my role as a councillor was to honour the commitments I gave in my election promises, to make Helensburgh a better place to live, work and play.

"And the town is now very different from what it was in 2007, with an improved image and a resurgence of community spirit and the accolade of the one of the top towns in Britain."

Cllr Dance already serves as a director of the Helensburgh and Lomond Chamber of Commerce and is, or has been, a local justice of the peace, chair of the Friends of the Victoria Hall and co-chair of the Vale Hospital Watch campaign, among numerous other commitments.

She continued: "It was a great privilege to be elected by the people of Helensburgh to play a major role in bringing that change about and be trusted to help many individuals resolve issues that were impacting on their lives.

"I wish to thank all those who have supported me for giving me that opportunity, it has been a great honour and I have done my best to fulfil the role I undertook.

"I intend to continue my voluntary work and am really looking forward to having more time to devote to that in the years ahead and to being able to help where needed and to continue to lead on town initiatives. Exciting times ahead!"