THE chairman of Helensburgh Football Club says the club is "completely ruling out" the installation of floodlights and an all-weather pitch as it looks to take on one of the town's biggest public spaces.

Kenny Russell says he and other club officials would be happy to meet people living near the East King Street public park to discuss the club's plans.

As revealed in last week's Advertiser, the club has launched an expression of interest to Argyll and Bute Council and is developing an asset transfer request for the park in consultation with residents.

Following comments on social media in response to that story, Mr Russell said the club's plans did not include all-weather pitches, floodlights or fencing around the edge of the park.

Thanking those who live near the pitches, and further afield, for their feedback to the club so far, Mr Russell said the community's responses would help shape the detail of the club's request to Argyll and Bute Council.

Mr Russell said: “It is important to stress that our ambition is to continue to use the park as it is now - a space which can be shared and enjoyed by all, for dog walkers, booked sports activities and wider community use.

“If anything, we wish to improve it for local residents and our focus is on working in partnership with them to reduce some of the issues that exist currently.

“We absolutely share some of the main concerns, around litter, noise, stray footballs, parking, access for dog walkers and vandalism and indeed we wish to work with all concerned to address these and to improve East King Street pitches for the benefit of all.

“While it would be unfair to quote specific comments from residents there have been a number of things mentioned which we can allay fears by completely ruling out.

“Helensburgh FC assures residents that if the asset transfer request was successful none of the following projects would be even considered; installation of 3G or 4G pitch; permanent or temporary lighting; mesh fencing to retain the footballs within the grassed areas; and traffic management.

“We also have a number of proactive ideas with a view to improve the running of the pitches such as installing and managing more litter bins, training and game curfews including one day off every week, changing the layout of the park to run east to west, improving the changing rooms and overall aesthetics of the venue, introducing a small parking area near the changing rooms and also looking at the feasibility and legality of installing a CCTV system there as well.”

He added: “We have endeavoured to respond to every email, phone call, social media post and indeed face-to-face conversations with honesty and consistency. We thank each resident for their input so far and welcome further contributions.”

For further information, or to ask any questions about the club's proposals, email Mr Russell at chairman@helensburghfootballclub.co.uk or visit www.helensburghfootballclub.co.uk.