Rhu Bay asks: Wouldn’t it make more sense for an independent body to run this consultation? We’d get much more impartial, trustworthy data without any council bias.
Bill Heaney, editor/owner of The Democrat, writes: The Council should create a small park with flowers and seats to allow people to relax and look out at the passing pageant of the Clyde, similar to Rothesay. When Waverley returns (or its successor), and the pier comes back into use, this will attract more and more visitors and bring an economic upturn to the town. Helensburgh is a fantastic asset to Dumbarton, a fresh-air lung for people who live in the now-rundown and neglected one proud county town of the old Shire. Don’t make the same mistake as WDC, which has been to take the finest view from the town with a wonderful outlook to Dumbarton Castle and give planning permission to developers to build two supermarkets on it. This was a fine opportunity missed due to petty squabbling between Labour and the SNP.
Photo Robin Smith
Common Good land. That’s a misnomer if ever there was one.
WDC used to have that. But sadly the good is not for the common.
Think the land sold off for £1.00 to Strathleven Development and thereafter sold on to developers.
Or think Flamingo Land where some 38 acres of lochside land was to be given to the developer for a reported £70k. An absolute pot of gold giveaway. No wonder the deal was a commercial secret. But at least the people took action and protested.
But yes, Editor, Dumbarton is a rundown look of a town. With its history, its castle, its confluence of two rivers, Dumbarton should be a jewel to rival any of the historic towns in Scotland. But it’s not. It’s a dump, where money talks for all the wrong reasons.
So sad, but at the end of the day it’s the people’s choice for letting it happen. Could you imagine the Royal Mile in Edinburgh or its castle run down like Dumbarton Castle and the High Street?