A HELENSBURGH business chief has made an impassioned plea to the community to promote and support local trade.

Vivien Dance, chair of the Helensburgh and Lomond Chamber of Commerce, gave a presentation to members of Helensburgh Community Council (HCC) last week in which she outlined the area’s strong points.

The chamber commissioned an independent town centre audit, completed by Scotland’s Towns Partnership, at the start of the year and the findings were overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the quality and diversity of retail outlets, chain and independent stores and leisure facilities.

And Mrs Dance told the meeting at the Victoria Halls on Thursday, October 31 that the results of the report prove there is plenty to shout about in the town.

READ MORE: Helensburgh is thriving despite shop closures, Chamber of Commerce insists

She said: “Just about every night on the news there will be a headline about the failing high street and we’ll get all sorts of experts on to tell us what they’re going to do to resolve it and what the reasons are for it.

“I am glad to tell you that you will not, in the foreseeable future, find that Helensburgh is one of those towns, because we do not have a failing high street and our town centre is definitely not failing.

“We’re a long way away from going the way of many other towns both in Scotland and wider afield.

“We need to talk up the town.

“We live in a great place and it’s time we started to do more to celebrate it.”

The study surveyed 261 premises in the centre of Helensburgh and found that the town scores highly on accessibility, transport links, retail and heritage.

Contrary to many other areas around the country, Mrs Dance suggested that Helensburgh’s high street and town centre are on the up.

READ MORE: Helensburgh is well ahead of the game in challenging times, say business chiefs

She said: “It was agreed in the report that we have a very attractive town centre, we have attractions and heritage.

“The quality of shops and buildings rate very highly across the board at an average of seven out of 10.

“We have 102 residents served by every retail outlet, which is a particularly strong offering for a town of this size and in comparison to other towns audited.

“They came forward with a couple of observations on what could be improved, as we weren’t just looking for a pat on the back; we wanted independent scrutiny of our town so that the chamber could work to address those.

“The only two things they could suggest was the scaffolding on East Clyde Street and the benches on the seafront, which was a pretty good return.

“We have vibrant and abundant flower displays in the town and the calendar of events is testament to the very strong and active voluntary sector.

"Helensburgh is outstanding for the number of voluntary activities – it is just a pity they are not more supported by our local authority.”

Concerns had been raised in recent months after the closure of the town’s sole remaining shoe shop – Clarks, as well as the collapse of Thomas Cook.

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However, with new businesses stepping into the void, Mrs Dance said the outlook is much brighter than many believe and the audit report is evidence of a thriving town.

She added: “If there is no business, there is no town, it’s as simple as that.

“People in business are there to make a living and to make money; if they don’t make money they will leave the town.

“We are very fortunate at the moment that because confidence is high many of them manage to survive and provide excellent experiences for all of us. Some of our businesses are absolutely delightful.

“We have less than three per cent of empty shops but business will only be here if we promote it and support it.”

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