Waterfront: Argyll and Bute Council’s second drop-in session on the waterfront development will take place in the Victoria Halls on April 30. It is scheduled to end at 7pm, but the HCC will keep the display open, with the assistance of a council officer, until 9pm to allow commuters and workers who finish late, an opportunity to register their views.

We are assured that all comments will be addressed, so your individual input is an integral element of the process.

HCC is also conducting a community survey on all aspects of the plan and have received more than 500 responses so far which is a great start towards our target of 1,000 by May 20.

From the results of the survey we will be able to represent the community’s views on this project to the council, and it is therefore vital that townsfolk take this opportunity to state their thoughts. Our survey is online at surveymonkey.co.uk/r/HCCWaterfront

The imminent construction of the leisure centre and re-configuration of the pierhead will be part of the town for the next generation, which underlines the importance of community involvement in influencing the project.

Elections: A new amended scheme for the establishment of community councils was brought into force in April this year. This meant that every community councillor throughout Argyll and Bute had to seek re-election.

HCC has 20 positions to fill and managed to raise 18 candidates, leaving the option of co-opting two further members to make up our full complement. If anyone wishes to volunteer their services, particularly those who are active on social media, we shall be delighted to welcome them for consideration.

Town IMPROVEMENT: It has seemed an age but the weather is beginning to change and is getting warmer and drier.

We will be re-starting our two town enhancement projects for the summer by bringing back our regular monthly beach cleans and implementing the weeding programme and replacement of the shrub beds in Colquhoun Square.

We will be calling for volunteers for both events shortly and hopefully we will carry on the fantastic work of everyone who participated last year.