HELENSBURGH Community Council convener, Peter Brown, writes for the Advertiser in his latest monthly column.

Strong support for “No Supermarket” campaign

At the time of my previous column, we were awaiting news from Argyll and Bute Council about which developer had been approved as the preferred bidder for the waterfront.

To the dismay of the community, councillors announced that their preference was for a developer who would build a supermarket and other retail units on the town’s prime site.

The town has quickly demonstrated its opposition to this proposal through an amazing 4,000 signatures on our petition, in the many people that attended our August and September meetings, and by submitting more than 40 questions to the Helensburgh and Lomond area committee councillors’ meeting.

These questions underlined the community’s concerns about the lack of transparency over the bid process and their certainty that a supermarket is not appropriate for the waterfront site.

As Helensburgh Community Council, our aim is that Argyll and Bute Council respects the community’s clear rejection of the selected proposal and ensure that the heart of our town is developed in the way that the community wishes.

This means pausing and reviewing the current bidding and planning process to allow for meaningful community engagement.

What can you do?

Please continue to share and sign our petition - change.org/Stop_the_Supermarket. With the paper copies that have been signed in shops, and in the market last Saturday, we now have the fantastic number of 4,000 signatures but we want to get to 5,000.

Please write to your local Argyll and Bute councillor to state your objection to a supermarket on the waterfront.

See the waterfront section of our website for draft text if you need advice. Councillors will only change their minds if they see the weight of public opinion.

Please join us at the proposed supermarket site, in front of the leisure centre, at midday on Saturday, October 26 for a community celebration of the waterfront. More details to follow.

Volunteering Opportunities

The community council members continue to bring their energy and enthusiasm to our regular volunteer opportunities.

It was great to see so many people helping with our final Helensburgh beach clean of the year which took place last Saturday at the pierhead. The beach is as clean of plastic as it has ever been, which means we can enjoy it during the beautiful autumnal days that we have been having.

A huge thanks to all the members of the community council, and the broader set of all volunteers in the town who quietly help ensure that the town continues to thrive. We are grateful to the volunteers who have helped community council members with the shrub bed work in Colquhoun Square, which is looking very trim.

Finally, the community council is again working in conjunction with the local British Legion to ensure that the annual Remembrance Day parade and service will take place – this year on Sunday, November 10 in the Hermitage Park Memorial Garden.