BUSINESS chiefs and community councillors have welcomed the decision to continue discussions on Helensburgh’s proposed new leisure centre into the new year.

Representatives of Helensburgh Community Council (HCC) and Helensburgh and Lomond Chamber of Commerce attended last Wednesday’s meeting of Argyll and Bute Council’s planning, protective services and licensing committee (PPSL), which saw a decision to further delay the ruling on planning permission.

Committee members made the decision by six votes to three, with all nine councillors able to take part voting the same way as they did at a public hearing at the Victoria Halls in November.

Concerns remain over the potential development at the pierhead due to flooding risks.

Dr Peter Brown, HCC’s vice-convener, who attended the committee meeting, said: “I am pleased the councillors have listened to members of the community who were concerned about the risk of flooding.

“They have taken the appropriate approach, rather than having the plans steamrollered through, and agreed to further conversations about where the building should be.

“The strong steer is that it should be as per the 2012 Masterplan, which will not require the additional band aid of 50cm of sea wall which was being proposed by the applicant. This was quite a rushed modification.

“We know that the community really needs a new pool, and the councillors spoke very positively on that.

"They are continuing to work on this proposal but the decision at the meeting was the right one and the sensible one.”

The PPSL committee’s next scheduled meeting is on Wednesday, January 23, and it is expected that the debate will continue there.

Chamber of Commerce director Vivien Dance, who also attended last week’s PPSL meeting, said afterwards: “The decision is a sensible one and the only one that could be made.

“There have been many community representations made and from the perspective of the community we see a way forward. We have never wished to delay the new pool, which is needed in the town, but it needs to be in the right place.

“We think that with the further continuation of the process, there is the prospect of a common sense approach to what would have been an unviable location.”

“It has been recognised there is some vulnerability, so we welcome this decision and commend the community council for their efforts to bring this about.

“Thanks also to the business community for doing their research before making submissions on this.”

At last Wednesday’s meeting, committee chairman Councillor David Kinniburgh asked the council’s head of planning and regulatory services, Angus Gilmour, if moving the building would require an entirely new application to be submitted.

Mr Gilmour responded: “It is something we would have to consider depending on the degree of change.

“Certainly, relocating the swimming pool would start to raise material considerations and would impact on the layout and operation of the site. We could not make any formal decision without seeing the full details.

“If there was a change of position of the building, taking it away from the sea edge, that would be likely to be a material change and require a fresh planning application.”

The delay in establishing the full extent of the flood risk during the process was also raised by councillors at the meeting.

The authority published reports days before November’s public hearing indicating that the proposed flood defences would only suffice until 2030. This was followed by plans to heighten the sea wall by 50cm.

Councillor Richard Trail said: “I have to say I have been disappointed with this recent development.

“I wonder if this design would have been done like this had we known, or the flood advisor had come up with a different analysis to raising the wall.

“It reminds me of Brexit. We have kicked the can to the end of the road, and have nowhere to go.”