The Visions for Helensburgh exhibition we held a fortnight ago attracted a large number of the community over the Saturday and Sunday in Victoria Halls.

It presented not only a view of the future development of the town but also highlighted a cross-section of the volunteer groups who are integral to the process and our quality of life, such as our woodland communities, leisure activities and the environment.

There was also a broad consensus that the town had to move forward and prosper. It was very noticeable that members of the community had strong positive and constructive views on the various options offered by the exhibitions displayed.

The standout priorities for action were the renaissance of the pier as a viable entity, and for the waterfront/pierhead area once the old swimming pool is demolished.

Those were closely followed by the panoramic stretch of the waterfront from Craigendoran to Kidston Point. The statistical results of the exhibition will be notified shortly.

The consultation on Argyll and Bute Council’s Education Change Programme – on the future delivery of education in Argyll and Bute – created a degree of controversy.

We made ourselves aware of the situation and consulted within the community, particularly parent groups, and raised the matter formally with the council.

Our consideration was that the consultation was premature and lacked evidence to make a case for change. It should therefore be withdrawn for further scrutiny. The full text of the letter is on our website.

The community council is continuing to progress the renovation of the garden enclosing Helensburgh’s war memorial in Hermitage Park.

The situation is compounded by the fact that the Memorial is a Grade A listed building with Historic Environment Scotland therefore care has to be taken to ensure that nothing untoward affects this listing. We now have the start-up garden layout as an initial guide and the intention is to involve all horticultural experts and non-experts in the town, a say on the final garden layout.

Finally, at our February meeting a motion was proposed inviting Argyll and Bute Council to consider the imposition of a 20mph speed limit within the town.

That motion having been endorsed by HCC members, Argyll and Bute has answered saying the matter will be taken up with the relevant policy lead when the council next meets.