A HELENSBURGH and Lomond councillor has blasted Argyll and Bute Council officials, and the authority's ruling administration, over the progress of the town's waterfront redevelopment scheme.

George Freeman said delays to the £19.5 million project raise questions about the competence of senior councillors managing the project.

Cllr Freeman, an independent councillor for the Lomond North ward, made his comments after the authority admitted it would have to re-run the tendering process for the main waterfront works contract because of a "technical glitch" in the process.

READ MORE: Finance fears over latest Helensburgh waterfront delays

He also said an application for 'listed building consent' lodged for the project could result in further delays.

Listed building consent is required not because the waterfront itself is a listed site, but because the adjacent Helensburgh Pier was recently granted C-listed status by Historic Environment Scotland – obliging the council to consider the impact of the development on the pier.

The pier was added to Historic Environment Scotland's register of listed buildings in April of this year, though the application for listed building consent was only lodged on July 11.

READ MORE: Helensburgh pier is given listed status by Historic Environment Scotland

Cllr Freeman also said the blame for the lengthy delay "can only be pointed at the council" for failing to lodge a planning application which was acceptable to the authority's planning committee, of which Cllr Freeman is a member.

In a letter published in the July 25 issue of the Advertiser, Cllr Freeman said: "With further damning information appearing in the public domain on almost a weekly basis, questions are being asked about the competence of those senior councillors within Argyll and Bute's ruling administration to manage such a project.

"Although we saw lengthy delays in progressing planning permission for this facility, senior councillors appeared to point the finger of blame at Helensburgh Community Council for submitting significant and well researched objections – even though theirs was just one of 115 objections against this planning application.

READ MORE: Helensburgh pier could play a role in waterfront plans after all

"The finger of blame for securing planning permission can only be pointed at the council, as they are the developer who failed to submit a planning application that was acceptable to the planning authority.

"We have seen recent reports that the council may have to cut back on the project via 'value engineering options' – cuts, to you and me – because of rising costs linked to the delays in progressing this project, due to the delays in securing planning approval."

He continued: "It is amazing that a listed building planning application has only now been submitted.

"Although I cannot comment on the pros and cons of the listed building application at this time, due to the requirements of the councillors' code of conduct, the question must be asked as to what added further delays this could introduce into the delivery of this project."

READ MORE: Community council rejects Helensburgh waterfront blame claim

Cllr Freeman also accused the authority's ruling administration of transferring a £5 million funding injection from the Ministry of Defence for the Helensburgh waterfront scheme to the renovation of Dunoon pier – a project which, he says, was "delayed indefinitely" in favour of refurbishment of Dunoon's Queen's Hall.

He added: "Questions must now be asked where the £5 million donated by the MoD to the leisure facility eventually ended up. Has it, either directly or indirectly, ended up funding the refurbishment of the Queen’s Hall in Dunoon?

"And if not, where is the £5 million now – and is the council complying fully with the terms attached to the £5 million grant from the MoD?"

The council has always insisted that it provided a £5m underwrite for the Helensburgh project, from its own reserves, only in case the UK government did not commit to making a financial contribution – which it did in its March 2016 Budget, put forward by the then Chancellor, George Osborne.

The money came from fines imposed on the country's banks for fixing the LIBOR inter-bank lending rate.

A council spokesman said: “The £5million LIBOR funding remains in the Helensburgh waterfront budget, and it will be used for the costs associated with the provision of the new leisure centre.

"As we have explained previously, the council provided underwriting of £5million to the Helensburgh Waterfront Development in 2015/2016 to allow the project to progress while we sought external funding.

"It was always the intention that, should external funding be secured, the underwriting would be reduced by an equivalent amount.

"When the LIBOR funding of £5million was secured, the underwritten funds were freed up to be used on other priority projects.”