HELENSBURGH’S roads network may struggle to cope with the extra vehicles generated by a major new housing development planned for the town.

That’s the warning given to members of Helensburgh Community Council (HCC) as home builder Taylor Wimpey held the first public consultation event on its proposals for around 300 new homes at Helensburgh Golf Club.

A member of Taylor Wimpey’s project team told the event, held online on Friday, February 26, that the only vehicle access point to almost all of the new development is planned to be off East Abercromby Street.

But HCC members have been told of concerns that that plan will create a pinch point at the junction of East Abercromby Street and Sinclair Street – as well as generating significant extra traffic on East Abercromby Street itself.

It’s expected that the new properties – 75 per cent of which will be privately-owned, with the rest being social housing for rent by Dunbritton Housing Association – will generate some 500 additional vehicles.

In addition, vehicle access to the golf club will continue to be from East Abercromby Street, close to the site of the present clubhouse.

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HCC member Nigel Millar, who leads on planning issues for the community council, said: “The issue that will come to the top is the one of access.

“Access to the private homes will, according to Taylor Wimpey, be along East Abercromby Street. The number of privately-owned houses means nearly 500 additional cars on that site, as well as people accessing the golf club, so it’s going to be a much more highly-used road than it is at present.”

Community councillor Stewart Noble, who lives on East Abercromby Street, told the meeting: “The junction of East Abercromby Street, turning right on to Sinclair Street, is already very busy, and the same applies to traffic turning right on to East Abercromby Street itself.

“My personal preference is that an existing track that leads from the council’s roads depot at Blackhill down to the golf club’s maintenance depot be upgraded.

“My one reservation with that is that a wee bit of green belt would be lost, but I think something will have to be done about it, because East Abercromby Street carries a very high volume of traffic from a very large part of the town already.”

Speaking at the public consultation event, held the day after HCC’s meeting, Graham Oswald, design and planning manager for Taylor Wimpey West Scotland, confirmed that vehicle access to the “vast majority” of the site will be off East Abercromby Street.

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The exception will be a small section at the south-eastern corner of the development site, expected to contain part of the social housing element of the plans, with vehicle access to those homes planned to be via Kent Drive in Churchill. But under the proposals as they currently stand, there will be no vehicle access to or from the rest of the site via Kent Drive.

Mr Oswald said: “There will be a transport assessment which will deal with how the local infrastructure will be able to cope.

“That will be submitted as part of the planning application. It will be down to Argyll and Bute Council to have a look at that.”

Roddy Macleod from planning consultants Montagu Evans, who have been appointed by Taylor Wimpey and the golf club to carry out the public consultation, added: “We have produced a piece of work that says vehicles can be accommodated within the existing junction network.

“But if there are more surveys required as part of the process we will be more than happy to accommodate those.”

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