Helensburgh 200

Argyll and Bute Council recently published a draft Structure Plan, savaged by the Plain English Campaign and most other organisations as unreadable, suggesting housing is the way forward. This sees Helensburgh's main purpose as a dormitory town for Glasgow with 700 new houses by 2020 and a near 10% population rise. This ignores the fact that councils closer to Glasgow already believe they will meet the needs of the city. It also ignores the lack of amenities in the town for those already here. The supermarket plan provides for a wholly inadequate sports centre and swimming pool as the sweetener for planning permission; the town's secondary school requires urgent replacement but nothing has been agreed; parking in the town does not support the current level of car use; litter bins are a rare sight because they cost too much to empty. There is no cinema and the other leisure opportunities available locally can probably be gauged by the level of vandalism on the waterfront and in the town's Hermitage Park. Where the council does speak clearly, for example in rejecting applications by the town's churches,(see featured story), who, contrary to the health recommendations of Scottish and UK parliaments, are trying to cash in by becoming antennae sites, it is ignored and is in danger of being seen as an irrelevance. If you want to contribute to the debate on the town's future send us your thoughts.

The main purpose of this site is a visual approach to local history using image maps and databases to look at changing townscapes and building use. Combining architectural and economic history with a high level of interactivity the project aims to interest everyone from schoolchildren through family historians and homesick expatriates to town planners and social historians. We hope Helensburgh will be the first of many such projects and, again, we would be happy to hear from you if you have photographs, documents or other information of relevance.