This week's Councillor Column is written by Ellen Morton, chair of the Helensburgh and Lomond area committee and councillor for Helensburgh and Lomond South.

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The promised work on the footpaths in South Colgrain will have begun by the time this Advertiser is in print.

Residents should have received letters advising them of the work and preparing them for the inevitable disruption it will cause in narrow busy residential streets, especially the ones near Craigendoran station.

I hope the disruption can be kept to the absolute minimum but the work is essential. Officers hope to do as many South Colgrain roads as possible while the big machinery is in the area, to avoid any need for further disruption later.

Commuters who park, but do not live, in South Colgrain will be well advised to stay out of the area over the next few weeks. Access for residents especially in the event of an emergency, will be maintained at all times.

Still on roads, I have had a comment made about Kidston Park being resurfaced from residents who felt that some other roads should have been a priority. It might seem strange but the council roads team is carrying out the Kidston Park work on behalf of the public transport department, using a budget available from parking money for parking infrastructure, so the work in Kidston is not using roads budgets.

It also makes sense to get Kidston done at this time of year before the summer sunshine and the visitors arrive at this popular parking place (well, surely we can live in hope of sunshine after the winter we have endured).

Please get involved in two important consultations now ongoing or about to begin. One is, of course, the waterfront development; the other is participatory budgeting, which will allow local people to decide which of 21 local projects should be allocated council funds of £28,000 - previously third sector grants decided by the area committee councillors.

On the waterfront, this week saw the first of three drop-in sessions at the Victoria Halls to let people see the draft proposals. It is critically important that this is driven forward as quickly as possible: the current pool is life-expired and living on borrowed time. We must have the new pool in operation before the old pool gives up the ghost, butIn my view we cannot leave the town without a pool while the new one is built so the options for the siting of the new pool are constrained by the need to allow the old pool to remain in operation.

Please attend one of the open days and look at the plans and be sure to ask for explanations about any aspect of concern to you. This is a highly complex technical project and it is critical that we end up not just with a new pool that meets the needs of its users, but also a pool that is sustainable for the future.