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 Bluebells
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Background
The history of our organisation goes back to1990 when there were five separate proposals by property developers to develop in the green belt around Helensburgh. This caused consternation among a number of residents of the town, two of whom approached town councillor Billy Petrie who suggested holding a public meeting. From this large public meeting of local people the Helensburgh Green Belt Group (HGBG) was established and a committee formed. The Group is a voluntary organisation seeking to enhance and to protect the countryside around Helensburgh. It is non-party political, non-sectarian and non-profit making and in 2005 celebrated its 15th anniversary.
Current activities
Initially our efforts were directed at questioning proposed developments but since then the activities of the group have grown. Today we expend most effort on:
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assessing and responding to national and local policy proposals affecting the countryside
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tracking planning applications affecting the Green Belt and contesting those that are inappropriate
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encouraging paths, countryside access and woodlands
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taking active interest in wildlife and plant life around the town
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engaging in two-way communication with residents of Helensburgh to ensure democratic liaison
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working cooperatively with other local voluntary groups and with Argyll and Bute Council
Functional Principles
Besides our broad philosophy of enhancement and protection of the green belt, we keep in mind the following additional principles. -
Countryside, not town issues. As volunteers with limited time and resources at our disposal, we focus our efforts on countryside issues. This means that we do not concern ourselves with in-town matters unless they have a bearing on the countryside.
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What countryside? The Green Belt stretches to the edge of Glasgow, but is very narrow north of Helensburgh. For practical reasons we limit our activities to the countryside near Helensburgh whether Green Belt or not.
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Other groups. People from other settlements have approached us, asking us to assist with their countryside problems; our response has been to offer to help them to set up groups similar to ours. We have made contact with similar groups elsewhere in Scotland.
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No membership fee. We do not impose fees which would deter or limit involvement of citizens in our work. The limited funding we need comes from advertisements in our newsletter Greenery, voluntary donations and grants.
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Democratic communication. See our 'Communication' page
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Wildlife. Concern for animal wildlife, trees, plant life and landscape.
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Education. Quality countryside is as much for future generations as for ourselves. We assist school and university students in educational projects.
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