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The Helensburgh Waterfront Development celebrated a major construction milestone with a traditional topping out ceremony, marking the completion of the building’s structure and roof. The multi-million pound investment includes a new leisure centre and swimming pool, improved flood defences for the town, new outdoor public meeting spaces, new landscaping and car and coach parking.

¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ has appointed Hawthorn Heights Ltd to start work on 31 May.   Improvement works include:   A new play parkA new public square where community events can take placeDrainage and landscaping to help ease the impact of floodingAdditional seating areasNew walking and cycling facilities  Councillor Alastair Redman, Policy Lead, Business Regeneration and Commercial Development:

¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥â€™s Early Years Team have continued to take part in a range of professional learning and development opportunities throughout lockdown as part of the roll out of 1140 hours Early Learning and Childcare (ELC). Teachers and education staff have undertaken a wide range of hugely popular online training courses, including health and wellbeing coaching led by psychologist Sarah Philp. They have also been working closely with partner providers and childminders, offering support and advice.

A series of live online Facebook events will be held this summer to promote the Gaelic language in ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute and provide opportunities for communities to come together. The events will take place on the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute Gaelic Forum’s Facebook page and each one will feature a well-known, popular musician or songwriter. The first event will be held at 8pm on Thursday 27 May and will star Ian Smith from Trail West.

Supporting local businesses is more important than ever as ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute starts to recover from the impact of the pandemic.   ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ is encouraging people to support towns and high streets by shopping local. To help local businesses, the council is delivering a number of initiatives designed to enhance both the online and physical presence of town centre businesses. They include:  

Getting tested is a key step in keeping each other safe and stopping the spread of covid-19, whether or not you have symptoms. I don’t have any symptoms – do I need a test?People can be infectious and spread the infection to others without realising. Identifying and supporting infectious people before they develop symptoms will help reduce the spread of coronavirus.

¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ has taken an innovative approach to ensure that young people feel safe, secure and resilient as they settle back into school-life after lockdown. With pupils having spent a lot of time away from friends in recent months, and many no doubt feeling anxious, the council teamed up with Scout Adventures Lochgoilhead and Ardroy and Benmore Outdoor Education Centres, to develop an itinerary of outdoor learning activities for children and young people across ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute, focussing on positive health and wellbeing.

The pandemic has required every aspect of our working lives to adapt to more challenging circumstances and regional improvement collaboratives set up to support education and children’s services teams across Scotland are no exception.

¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ has reduced its carbon emissions by 27% over the past five years. Its carbon report 2019/20 shows that its emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, thanks to a wide range of actions. The council will invest more than £1.2 million in action to save energy and deliver progress in becoming a net zero carbon emissions organisation by 2045.

Talented pupils from Islay High School narrowly missed out on winning this year’s FilmG Gaelic Learners Award after beating off stiff competition and being shortlisted for the final. FilmG is an annual competition organised by MG ALBA, which celebrates Gaelic screen talent and attracts hundreds of applications each year.