HELENSBURGH locals could be soon be raising a glass to residents of a new twin town near the wine capital of France.

Members of Helensburgh Community Council (HCC) are currently exploring additional partnership opportunities having been associated with Thouars, in the west of France, for more than 40 years.

One option being considered is the area of Le Taillan, in the Médoc region of Bordeaux which is famous for its illustrious vineyards, and HCC representatives are hopeful of developing a fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship.

At a meeting of the HCC, held in the Victoria Halls on Thursday, February 27, member Tariq Durrani said: “Thouars is twinned with four towns, including Helensburgh, so that relationship is not exclusive to us.

“It is not unusual to have more than one twin town, or more than one from the same country.

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“It looks like there is a positive response from Le Taillan.

“The purpose of twin towns is getting to know another culture.

“Activity depends very much on what the two towns would like to do and what they would like to get out of it, but starting points are lots of family exchanges and student exchanges.”

A letter received by Mr Durrani from the Mayor of Le Taillan, Agnes Versepuy, highlights positive early discussions between the two bodies.

The Mayor writes: “Our town, Le Taillan-Médoc, is seeking an English-speaking twin town, more particularly in Scotland.

“Indeed we like the culture and the traditions of this beautiful country.

“We confirm our desire to get in touch with the town of Helensburgh.

“Our wish is to create fruitful exchanges between our inhabitants and especially between the younger generations through sport and culture among other things.

“Local elections will take place on March 15 and 22 but we are sure this project will be maintained no matter the results.”

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Other twinning possibilities mentioned by community councillors last week included Helensburgh’s namesake in New South Wales and a similar suburb in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Le Taillan-Médoc, in the south-west of France, has around 10,000 inhabitants and is 13km from the centre of Bordeaux, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Not unlike Helensburgh the town is described as “expanding rapidly”, as a result of several new housing developments, and has excellent schools and sports facilities.

In 2000, Le Taillan twinned with Castelnuovo-Berardenga in the Italian region of Tuscany.

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