COMMUNITY councillors in Helensburgh have raised fears that a proposed new local development plan for Argyll and Bute doesn’t do enough to ensure a good quality of design for new buildings.

Helensburgh Community Council (HCC) was one of several groups to respond to Argyll and Bute Council’s proposed Local Development Plan 2 (PLDP2).

HCC said the area’s current local development plan, which dates from 2015, “contains a comprehensive suite of policies on what constitutes good design for buildings themselves and how they relate to their surroundings” – but that those had not been carried forward into PLDP2.

According to a report prepared for a full Argyll and Bute Council meeting last week, HCC said: “The proposed LDP2 will restrict and diminish design policies, resulting in subjective assessments, and a patchwork quilt of design standards will follow.”

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But Argyll and Bute officials said the PLDP2’s policies on layout and design were “far more comprehensive than previously”, and said there should be no changes to the new plan.

The PDLP2 also identifies that there may be a need for a long term review of Helensburgh’s green belt as a result of the expected increase in the area’s population caused by the expansion of HM Naval Base Clyde.

The PLDP2 will now be sent to the Scottish Government for consideration.