Change can be good, change can be difficult, both things are true. Without change, there is no progress in life but many people dislike change, indeed they fear it.

There’s a lot of change happening in West Dunbartonshire, some of it obvious, some more subtle. In Dumbarton we’re finally seeing the Artizan Centre demolition, although looking from the front on Friday there was still a facade.

A closer look from another angle shows what looked to be solid as just an empty shell.  In other parts of the town, we will see another supermarket spring to life over the next year or two, and at the west end of the town, new housing is set to soon occupy two sites which once were schools.

All these sites hold memories for local people of their formative years, of growing up in a thriving town of industry and of jobs that will seem alien to today’s young people. That’s change.

Shopping habits change to fit the digital age and the busy pace of life. Families expect more from their homes and the rise of smaller and single households means we need more houses. The Housing committee considered a report last week which set out how officers intend to rise to the challenge of a housing emergency.

There are no easy answers and a lot more detail is needed before we’ll see if the changed approach will be effective. Also examined at the same meeting was the house-building programme and the response provided for those who are unfortunate enough to face homelessness.

All of these areas need investment of a far greater scale than we can provide locally to keep up with the pace of change needed. Disappointingly we are now hearing from Westminster that things will get worse; it’s a bit of a bleak picture overall.

Rachel Reeves holds the purse strings and we await her delivering meaningful change for the country and West Dunbartonshire, after all, it’s what we have been promised. Let’s hope we aren’t short-changed.