HELENSBURGH Community Council (HCC) convener Norman Muir outlines the four key objectives in HCC's plan to improve the town.

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IT is a great boost to morale that there is every indication of life gradually returning to as near normal as possible.

Despite the restrictions of lockdown the community council has found innovative ways of maintaining contact, such as our successful Zoom webinar programme on a variety of information topics, which we shall continue.

It has also allowed us a period of reflection on our direction and purpose and how we can improve our service to the community.

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We have therefore decided upon four objectives to concentrate on:

  • A growing Helensburgh - using our ‘Vision for Helensburgh’ study currently under way, we want to see the town flourish.
  • A sustainable Helensburgh - Helensburgh is a growing town and we celebrate that. We have to make sure that the town grows in a way that is sustainable for future generations, not just for the medium term.
  • An environmental Helensburgh - working with local groups, we want to make sure that as a community we are working towards the protection of the environment.
  • A distinct Helensburgh - Helensburgh is internationally renowned for its buildings and style. We want to ensure that our distinctiveness is preserved, while embracing the future.

Apart from such philosophical but important considerations, we have been addressing some longstanding problems such as litter, filthy pavements and inappropriate refuse bins.

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A meeting has been agreed with the head of roads and infrastructure services at Argyll and Bute Council to discuss and resolve the situation.

We continue with our beach cleans and maintenance of the shrub beds in Colquhoun Square and we are delighted to receive continued support from volunteers and community group support from the horticultural society, Morrisons and Plastic Free Helensburgh.

We have also re-engaged with the new commander of Faslane naval base, Commodore Bob Anstey.

Our planning group has established close liaison with Taylor Wimpey on the planning application for the housebuilding programme of 300 homes at the golf club.

We are also pursuing a solution to the traffic issues and road safety at Victoria Road and the inappropriate vehicle parking on pavements.

Such matters take time to resolve, but perseverance is the key and we have that in abundance.