Decades of determined campaigning led by the ‘Adviser’s own George Ramsgate results in a sleek new layer of tarmac on the quiet side-street.
Like many other neglected, low-traffic byways in Helensburgh, Grant Street had been in need of repair for decades. The rough surface of the one way side-street had led to countless spilt coffees during the morning school drop at Hermitage Primary.
“I was a younger man when I first tried to get something done about it,” Ramsgate explained. “The years have flown by. We thought we had victory in our sights with Dumbartonshire District Council, but then we became part of Argyll and Bute, so we had to start from scratch.”
Even when it looked like the council had the money, it became earmarked for other things. Then came the bicentennial roadworks project that has led to sporadic, if unpredictable resurfacing works around the town.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the resurfacing work is an attempt to appease theme park magnate, Vandal Land, in the hope of securing their investment in nearby Hermitage Park.
However, tarmac triumph on Grant Street hasn’t raised the hopes of others living on Helensburgh’s rough roads and dilapidated drives.
“It’s not like there’s any pattern to where they carry out resurfacing. We got ahead of ourselves when they did Dennistoun Crescent a few years back, as it was so close by, ” A frustrated resident of Abbotsford Drive told us. “But it wasn’t to be – my council tax obviously only entitles me to live on a road of rubble.”
