ARGYLL and Bute Council has promised to examine the state of the old A814 in Shandon after a local resident aired concerns about the road at a public meeting.

Ian Chattan, who lives in Shandon, said the road – which runs parallel to the main A814 through the village, and provides pedestrian, vehicle and cycle access to many of the area's homes – was badly potholed and presented a particular danger after heavy rain.

Mr Chattan aired his concerns at a meeting of the council's Helensburgh and Lomond area committee.

He said: “The surface is that which was in place when the 'new' A814 was built.

“Last winter, foot passage was extremely hazardous. The surface is potholed and in very poor condition, and after periods of heavy rain, potholes are concealed by puddles, which makes it very dangerous to walk on.

“At this time of year it doesn't look too bad, but when three-quarters of the road is taken up by a flood it becomes a hazardous process if there are potholes under the water.

“How do we get this road into the council's roads programme?”

Speaking during a public question time at the start of the meeting, Mr Chattan also raised the issue of bus stops on the seaward side of the main A814 through Shandon – which, he said, had no dropped kerbs, making them inaccessible to disabled bus users.

Kevin McIntosh, from the council's roads department, told Mr Chattan that the authority would look to address the bus stops issue “as quickly as we can”.

On the state of the old A814, Mr McIntosh added: “I'm not too familiar with that particular road but I've noted your comments and will take them back to the operations team.

“Each road for which the council is responsible has a ranking which determines our spending priorities, and there is an established inspection regime through which any safety defects are identified.

“There are competing priorities, and we have a limited budget, but we will do all we can to address the issues that have been reported.”

Lomond North councillor Robert MacIntyre, who is also the authority's depute policy lead for roads and amenity services, said he was looking into securing funding from Sustrans to tackle concerns about the old A814.

He said: "There have been complaints about this road for quite a while. Hopefully we will have some good news in the near future."