Achievements and annoyances, that’s been the theme of the last few months. In my last column, I wrote about the gassy stench the Vale was being subjected to from the Auchencarroch landfill.

The landfill has now been closed for commercial reasons and we can expect any gassing episodes to stop as the landfill cells are being sealed up and the site made good.

Before this closure, I presented a motion to the council to try and figure out what on earth the council planned to do with all its waste in the future. It was defeated by a motion from Labour's infrastructure spokesperson David McBride, whose response admitted the Labour council had no plans but promised they’d think of something eventually.

Since then we saw our waste contract expire and were forced to send our waste to another council to process it at costs that have not been disclosed to me. They would also develop a communication and engagement strategy, presumably that would tell folk to just avoid having any waste.

Time reveals all, and what they’ve actually done since then, is cut your bin collections to every three weeks, and added a £60 charge if you want your brown bin to be emptied. I wonder where the communication and engagement strategy was before they dropped that little bombshell on us! Another reminder of why the Labour administration has become renowned for a contemptuous lack of transparency.

The Labour Provost, Douglas McAllister’s behaviour at the budget meeting was both inexplicable and inexcusable as he tried to railroad through Labour's eighteen-page budget giving councillors just one minute to read it.

This was despite being informed that doing so was unlawful as it discriminated against those with disabilities on the council, even after they identified themselves. This man, seemingly a scrutiny-dodging democracy-denier, is Labour's choice to stand in the Westminster election later this year. Never mind annoying things, that is simply mind-boggling.

Back on the achievements side, with hundreds of objections and representations, people power won on the day an undesirable wind turbine and a road through Bonhill’s greenbelt were unanimously refused by the council's planning committee.

Let us hope that ruling isn’t overturned by the Scottish Government's planners, who have the final say on this. I also welcome the National Park's objection to the ridiculous 70-storey power plant on the hills behind Haldane and Bonhill.

Although not a victory yet as the final decision still hasn’t been made, I hope the sheer volume of objections does the job and this environmental and economic catastrophe isn’t forced through in the name of disproven climate bunkum.

The harms of wind farms are quickly becoming clear. Even if you don’t live close enough to be impacted by the sound, the groundwater pollution or the visual impact, you will have noticed it in your energy bills since these wind farms have to be backed up by a gas or coal power plant, so you are paying twice for the same energy. How annoying.