‘Doors Open Day’ takes place this weekend in Helensburgh.
You will see full details about what is going on at http://www.doorsopendays.org.uk/find-a-building/?area=7498#
During Doors Open Days, Helensburgh Heritage Trust is also giving a number of guided tours and you can see the details at http://www.helensburgh-heritage.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1422:helensburgh-doors-open-next-weekend&catid=101:headlines&Itemid=539.
On 2nd September, members of Helensburgh Community Council visited the Glasgow School of Arts students who had kindly brought their work to Helensburgh over the summer. The occasion was the GSA’s Graduate Degree Show. Attached are a few picture of the students and their work – best wishes to them all in their future careers.
The awards ceremony for young volunteers taking part in the Youth Forum and GIVE programmes took place last week. It was heartening to see 72 youngsters gain awards for a variety of skills that they can apply to community life. The ethos of taking personal responsibility for the collective good of the town is one we should all take heed of.
There is a great deal of public unease at the moment concerning the disruptive actions of juveniles in and around the station. You are assured that all agencies involved are energetically tackling this complex problem and all actions, that are possible under the circumstances, are being taken.
I would like to take this opportunity of thanking individual members of the Community Council for their efforts in bringing two new features into our summer. The Glasgow School of Art Exhibition and the Helensburgh Food Festival were a success and brought a new dimension to community life.
The Community Council has a number of initiatives in progress:
· Participation in the town roads infrastructure – first meeting 6 September
· Participation in the Waterfront Project – pending
· Monthly Beach cleans – now more than six months old and functioning well; good community volunteer support.
· Weed clean Colquhoun Square – a continuing event, until funding is approved to re-plant the shrubbery in the Square.
· We intend to concentrate a new focus on town environmental issues, principally recycling and litter, in the first instance.
We are seeking to make progress on three improvements to the town’s appearance:
· The first is to get the railway bridges at the Railway Station and at Craigendoran repainted, supporting a long-standing ambition of Cllr Aileen Morton on the subject.
· The second is to renew/repaint the three town entry signs.
· The third is to renovate the Rennie Mackintosh lampposts at the Hill House.
You, the public, will have your own ideas, which we would very much like to hear. We are open to any suggestions to add to the list – you can contact us through our website.
The Helensburgh Community Council has a statutory duty under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to:
“…ascertain, co-ordinate and express to the local authorities for its area, and to public authorities, the views of the community which it represents, in relation to matters for which those authorities are responsible, and to take such action in the interests of that community as appears to it to be expedient and practicable”
The expectations of the Helensburgh community for clean pavements, well-maintained roads and street lighting, logical parking arrangements and clear traffic signage came a step closer with a recent meeting between the Community Council and Argyll & Bute Roads and Amenity Services to address these issues.
The catalyst for this meeting lay in the Participation Request for consultation and partnership contained in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, which the Community Council submitted to Argyll & Bute Council in May 2017. The Request has been agreed and work will now start on this new journey into a mutually beneficial future which will enhance the town.
helensburghcommunitycouncil.co.uk 