COMMUNITY councillors in Helensburgh are planning to host a series of 'webinars' to keep people in the town informed and updated on local issues during the lockdown.
The series of short presentations, each lasting for up to 30 minutes and being streamed live via Zoom, will start early next month and will run on occasional Thursday evenings.
The first talk will be given by local historian Stewart Noble, who is also the treasurer of Helensburgh Community Council (HCC), on Thursday, June 4 at 7pm.
His talk will look at the three stages of Helensburgh's development – with a particular focus on Henry Bell's pioneering steamship, the Comet, the arrival of the railway in the town, and the establishment and expansion of the Royal Navy's presence at Faslane.
The 'present' section of his talk will look at new housing being built or planned in the town, the regeneration of Hermitage Park, and the plans for the town's new waterfront swimming pool and leisure centre – and on whether any might be delayed, or scuppered entirely, by the Covid-19 outbreak and its aftermath.
Further topics on the programme include an update on HCC's 'Vision for Helensburgh' project on June 18; the community council, Argyll and Bute Council and the relationship between the two on July 2; the history and present-day work of the Rotary movement on August 6; the regeneration of Hermitage Park on August 20; the post-coronavirus 'new normal' for Helensburgh on September 3; issues of concern to young people in the area on September 17; and the John Logie Baird Innovation Hub at Helensburgh Library on September 24.
And HCC is also keen to hear from people in Helensburgh with suggestions for future topics.
READ MORE: How Helensburgh and Lomond's remotest communities are rising to the lockdown challenge
Each presentation will be followed by a Q&A session, with the online audience able to submit questions in advance or to the meeting host during the talk.
Due to the limited capacity of the Zoom platform, anyone interested in the June 4 talk – or in any of the talks on the programme – is being asked to register by emailing HCC member Tariq Durrani at tsdurrani@gmail.com. Joining instructions will be sent out to all those who have registered.
We'll publish reminders in the Advertiser ahead of each of the talks in the series.
READ MORE: Check out all the latest news headlines from around Helensburgh and Lomond here
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