NOTEBOOK by BILL HEANEY

Work is progressing on a key strategic development site which will include a much-welcomed alternative route to the A82 at Bowling, according to West Dunbartonshire Council. Yer kiddin’. Believe this and I’ll sell you 100 acres of swamp land on which to build houses.

The major industrial and commercial site at the former ExxonMobil oil terminal in Bowling is starting to take shape with site clearance nearing completion.

However site clearance in this fashion was never the plan from the outset. The method used was never agreed by the council. If it looks like a con and takes shape like a con it’s a con.

The site in Bowling is being transformed [dug up and washed with water and remains polluted] to unlock the potential of mixed-use development with, for example, storage, distribution, industrial, business and office space.

It is a joint investment project between [lame duck] West Dunbartonshire Council and Glasgow City Region City Deal with funding from both UK and Scottish Governments.

The site which is expected to bring £20.6m of additional private investment, and £331.4m net additional Gross Value Added (GVA) to the City Region over 25 years. And the band played Believe it if you Like.

All of this is baloney, pure bunkum dreamed up by spin doctors. Another disaster waiting to happen.

And who will lose out, not just with finance but the inconvenience of having this built in Dumbarton?

The miles of traffic jams it will involve and all that goes with it will be suffered by us. The council call us citizens these days. Citizen Smith.

The partnership with Glasgow  is going to build factories which will have few if any tenants and lie empty for years.  What companies are lined up to move in?

Is this not a bit like cash-strapped Dumbarton FC telling us that they are going to build yet another stadium, sign a single player and go on from there to win the European Champions League?

What happened happened to Dunbartonshire Enterprise and Clydebank Regeneration? It’s food banks and deprivation we have here.

Sadly, it doesn’t look as if either is going away soon.

There was talk initially of 1100 jobs. More pie in the sky, much more. It sounds as if WDC have been conned yet again.

We have factories already lying empty on a number of sites, including Vale of Leven Industrial Estate, which is derelict and has lost one major employer after another. Anyone been down there recently?

The project includes junction, road and active travel improvements connecting to the site, most notably the addition of a 1.95km spine road, providing an additional route in and out of Dumbarton.

The development plan also includes  a phased implementation of raised platforms ready for development of future buildings on the site. Eh?

It’s a recipe for nightmares, just as the Lomondgate roundabout is currently and the Stoneymollan roundabout too, and all the road accesses to the A814 Cardross Road in the West End.

Each of these A82 roundabout projects cost at least three lives through fatal accidents. We have had enough of deaths caused by bad plans and loopey planning. Just stop it now.

Of the 150-acre area at Bowling, 47 acres are planned for development, with green network and green infrastructure enhancements including a waterfront pedestrian and cycle path being developed.

On yer bike then, or shorts and trainers and start running. Someone’s lost the plot here.

In addition, a heritage area has been identified around listed structure Dunglass Castle, which is what should have happened in the first place.

I kid you not, but one of our most recent Labour culture conveners had never heard of Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Convener of Infrastructure, Regeneration and Economic Development, Councillor David McBride, said: “The start of this work is a hugely important milestone for commerce and infrastructure in West Dunbartonshire.

“Local residents will have noticed site clearance work which has opened up the views from the A82 and the nearby A814 road into Dumbarton at the Dumbuck junction.

“It is a massive site with huge potential and I cannot wait to see the benefits for the local community and those who use the nearby A82 when travelling further afield.”

Vice Convener of Infrastructure, Regeneration and Economic Development, Councillor Lawrence O’Neill said: “On completion of this project, this huge site will be opened up and it will offer excellent commercial opportunities, further boosting West Dunbartonshire as a commercial location.

“First class transport links and additional, scenic cycle routes are just some of the benefits from this large-scale project which is now truly taking shape.”

Balfour Beatty was awarded the contract and began work earlier this year.

For Councillors McBride and O’Neill read Ant and Dec or Flanagan and Alan or Morcambe and Wise or Francie and Josie. Comedians all. Yer havin’ a laugh if you think this is going to be a success.

The contractors will pocket millions of pounds in profits while council services are cut to the bone, council tax will be hiked to high heven and investment in what’s really important such as NHS provision will never happen.

For what the “citizens” think of this project check out their comments on Facebook.