Many local residents will have heard of the Glasgow City Deal, which was announced in 2014. Other city deals have been announced since. These deals provide funding, from both the Scottish and UK governments, to councils to undertake substantial economic developments projects and there is now a commitment to a growth deal for every area of Scotland.

At the time of writing, Argyll and Bute Council’s draft proposals have been published and will be considered at a special council meeting as this issue of the Advertiser goes on sale.

These proposals are very much just a starting point for the agreement of our Rural Growth Deal – and we are still quite a long way from getting final approval. The hope though is that this additional money will unlock growth in our economy and support our many communities in their aspirations.

Some proposals are focused on a specific area, but there are also many which should bring benefits right across Argyll and Bute. These include priorities like digital access, housing and tourism, which are absolutely crucial to Helensburgh and Lomond as well as some of our more remote rural and island areas.

The proposal specifically for Helensburgh and Lomond, though, relates to harnessing the impact of the Maritime Change Programme at Faslane to benefit the whole area. Our aim is to create more local jobs and make the area more attractive for everyone – including the Navy families who will be moving here over the coming years.

We will look to grow the economy by providing space in Helensburgh for supply chain businesses, and other businesses not related to Faslane, and we are also working with organisations such as Strathclyde University to create an engineering hub that supports both business and research.

The wider aims of the project are then about tying the investment at the base to the local communities – such as the potential to invest in the peninsula’s villages to make them more attractive to the families coming into this area. Retaining and attracting working age people and young people to this area is so important if we want to see existing services such as schools and health care continue to be provided locally.

Another area to be discussed with the governments is the potential to improve sustainable public transport links to Faslane. This would be not just from Helensburgh, but also to key sites such as the airport and the RAH, with the expectation that all local residents could use the new services created.