As work progresses in Balloch and the village square is almost complete wouldn’t it be an idea to think ahead to the possible uses for our new Square - to bring some life to the centre of Balloch, for it to be the hub instead of everything being based down at Lomond Shores. Maybe the start of getting the community together, a focal point, a gathering place for a very spread out village?

If anyone has any ideas for uses/events they could email us at 3797bhcc@gmail.com and we can pass them on to the powers that be.

The Gala Day held last summer to coincide with the European Championships was highly successful and enjoyed by everyone, however, the sun did shine that day which makes a huge difference to the success of an event. It is hoped this could be held again in the future.

Read more: Councillor Martin Rooney: Mild weather has been good for building

A new addition to the village square is the memorial drinking fountain. It had originally been installed on Balloch Bridge in 1903 to commemorate Henry Lynn, who had ran a boatyard and boat hiring business in Balloch from 1880. The fountain was a gift from the community to commemorate his long association with Loch Lomond and the Humane Society. It had been removed from Balloch Bridge some years ago when the bridge was renovated and had lain in storage for many years, so good to see it back on display. It is in need of a clean but we’ve been assured this will happen when all works are completed.

Balloch is to have a new event “The Big Music Weekend”, “born from the ashes of the Folk Festival”, this will be held in the bars and hotels in Balloch on the first weekend in August, to bring the festival feel back to Balloch.

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