working with others

Local Organisations

The HGBG believes strongly in working cooperatively with others. It seeks good relations with Argyll and Bute Council, its agents and officers and the Helensburgh and Lomond Area Committee. It also works actively with other voluntary groups. Below are some of the local voluntary organisations with which it has regular contact.

The Helensburgh Community Council (HCC)

The HCC is the statutory local community organisation. It has official status in regard to being consulted over planning matters and it is the only body to represent Helensburgh as a whole.

It has sub-committees for several matters including planning, statutory plans, vision for the town and environment. The HGBG has a representative on HCC.

The Rhu and Shandon Community Council (R&SCC)

Rhu shares a section of Green Belt with Helensburgh and HGBG has recognised special links with the village which is represented on HGBG by one member. HGBG has worked with R&SCC on specific projects, most recently the issue of telecommunications masts.

The Helensburgh Study Group (HSG)

The HSG (as its name suggests) studies issues affecting Helensburgh and makes reports available to the public. The HGBG has cooperated with HSG on work about Green Belts, the Local Plan, telecommunications masts and a range of other matters. The HGBG often relies on the HSG to provide data on matters which are beyond the scope of the HGBG, such as analysis of population and housing projections.

The Helensburgh and District Access Forum (Access Forum)

In a sense, the HGBG founded the Access Forum. Before the Forum was created, HGBG was the main local group concerned with footpaths and allied issues. At a meeting with Council officials and the Community Council we agreed with a suggestion that a distinct Access Forum, embracing 15 local organisations, would be more effective than HGBG working on its own. The Access Forum has been working to establish a paths network in the Helensburgh area. Much of that plan has now been implemented, though the Forum has additional ambitions for long distance paths as well as more local paths. The HGBG is represented on the Forum and all its chairmen have been HGBG members.

The Helensburgh and District Civic Society (Civic Society)

The Civic Society, which is especially concerned with in-town and architectural matters, also takes active interest in the setting of the town and countryside issues. The HGBG therefore works with it, for example in regard to planning applications and the Local Plan.

The Duchess Wood Local Nature Reserve Committee (DWLNRC)

The Duchess Wood is part of the Green Belt. It became a designated Local Nature Reserve in 1998 and the HGBG played a part in the establishment of its Committee. The HGBG is represented on the Committee and provides its publicity function as well as other aspects.

Other organisations

The HGBG has participated in some events organised by the local Tourist Association, the Helensburgh Blossom Festival committee and the Helensburgh Tree Conservation Trust.

Regional and national affiliations

We also have links with regional organisations such as the Lower Clyde Greenspace and national bodies such as the Scottish Green Belts Alliance (SGBA). The Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland, previously known as Rural Scotland, The Scottish Wildlife Trust, Scottish Natural Heritage, The Scottish Civic Trust, The Forestry Commission, and others. One of our Committee is a Council member of APRS and on the coordinating committee of the SGBA. We have had contact with local authority Councillors, our MSP and our MP.

Scottish Green Belts Alliance

Countryside and Green Belt groups across Scotland established the Scottish Green Belts Alliance in September 2004 and the HGBG was a co-founder. www.greenbelts.ukos.com

The first actions of the Alliance were to thrash out common principles which unite the groups and to write a thorough national report entitled: "The Future of Green Belts in Scotland ” dated December 2004.

This report was submitted to the Scottish Executive and has contributed to the preparation of the new national policy. Another report from a team at Heriot-Watt University has also been released.

Duncan Campbell, Chairman of the Edinburgh and Lothian Greenbelt Network, stated: 'Nobody can seriously doubt the valuable contribution which Green Belts have made to Scotland over the past 50 years, but they have increasingly come under threat. There is a need to reinforce their effectiveness, not only for ourselves but for future generations'.

Tony Jackson of the St. Andrews Green Belt Forum argues that Green Belts are a planning tool which gains importance in light of new policies of sustainable development and Strategic Environmental Assessment.

The HGBG fully supports these views.

The Alliance 's report was updated in July 2005 and made more widely available. It can be accessed on the SGBA’s website: www.greenbelts.ukos.com/greenbeltfuture.php

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