PART of one of Helensburgh’s main streets could remain closed until next year because of ongoing concerns over an unsafe building.

Helensburgh councillor Gary Mulvaney revealed this week that Argyll and Bute Council officials have sought a six-month closure order for East Clyde Street, between Sinclair Street and Maitland Street, lasting until January 2019.

The street has been closed since the end of May after building standards officials from the authority raised concerns over the condition of a building on the north side of the carriageway.

But the original ‘closure order’ under which the street was shut has now expired, prompting officials to seek fresh permission to keep the affected section closed.

It is the fourth time since the spring of 2016 that building safety concerns have forced part of the A814 along Helensburgh’s seafront to close.

Councillor Mulvaney said: “The council has a duty to protect public safety from the adjacent dangerous building and had no option but to act.

“I appreciate the impact the closure is having on residents and local businesses and I know that council officers are working extremely hard to get the property owners, their structural engineers, contractors and scaffolders to commence works to make the building safe as quickly as possible.

“This is the fourth instance of a dangerous tenement building posing a hazard to public safety and the all the consequent disruption that it brings. Building owners need to start to face up to their responsibilities and literally get their house in order.”

The Advertiser reported when the latest closure was enforced that the owners of the Dry Cleaners and Laundrette, located in the closed-off area, had fears over the impact on their business.

John Clark, chief executive of the Helensburgh and Lomond Chamber of Commerce, said: “I’ve not had any specific feedback while the road has been closed.

“But as a resident of the town I’ve noticed a difference in how easy it is to park there. So clearly that will have an impact on businesses.”

Norman Muir, convener of Helensburgh Community Council, said: “This is an ‘A’ road. I appreciate the difficulties and understand where they are coming from, but somebody must be actively investigating how this can be resolved and how the road can reopen as soon as possible.

“Can they make it a partial closure? Can they make the building safe in some way until hopefully it is completely safe?

“There needs to be a mechanism to make the closure as short as possible.”

An Argyll and Bute Council spokesman told the Advertiser: “A six-month closure order has been requested simply for administrative purposes and this does not necessarily mean the road will be closed for that long.

“It allows us to continue discussions with the building’s owner over the best way forward, without the need to continually apply for a short-term road closure of 21 days.”