MEASURES to cope with a surge in the number of people walking to the Kilpatrick Hills are to be continued this summer, councillors have decided.

Concerns were raised in March last year about traffic congestion and parking issues in Old Kilpatrick and Hardgate, with hundreds more people taking to the hills during the first lockdown in 2020.

And new countryside rangers hired as part of efforts to deal with the problems created by the increased numbers have also helped to cut down on litter, traffic congestion and anti-social behaviour.

The rangers were brought in by Forestry and Land Scotland, while a planning application for a temporary car park at Gavinburn in Old Kilpatrick was fast-tracked and has been operational since last summer.

Other measures included large bins being placed at the entrance to Cochno Hill to reduce the amount of litter being left in the park, more litter patrols, extra signs reminding people of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, and temporary traffic orders on Cochno Road in Faifley and Mount Pleasant Drive and Station Road in Old Kilpatrick.

Those measures will remain in place during the 2022 summer season and a further review will be carried out after that.

At a full meeting of West Dunbartonshire Council, the authority's leader, Councillor Jonathan McColl, said: “This was an initiative that was raised by members which was a considerable problem at the time.

“It seems that monitoring by the authorities has made a difference here, and it is recommended that this continue during the summer season, when we would expect to see more traffic coming again.”

Members agreed that the work carried out by officers had been done well, and the number of complaints regarding the issue had dropped. 

Labour councillor Lawrence O'Neill, whose Kilpatrick ward includes the Hardgate/Faifley access points covered by the measures taken since last year, said: “We very much appreciate the amount of work that has gone into this project.

"I don’t think any of us anticipated when we went into lockdown in March 2020 that we would have a benefit as such to the great outdoors.

“With that benefit came a lot of challenges, particularly for constituents in the Kilpatrick ward. Hopefully we will have good weather and people will be able to enjoy the countryside.”

His Labour colleague Gail Casey, whose Clydebank Waterfront ward includes Old Kilpatrick, added: “I can confirm that my constituents in Old Kilpatrick have had very few complaints about the situation now, which is so different to when it started. We did not know how to resolve this problem.

“The officers have done a great job and long may it continue.”