A “DAUNTING number of documents” published as part of plans for more than 300 new homes in Helensburgh has led to fears it will be difficult for the public to scrutinise the proposals.

Argyll and Bute Council bosses have been urged to update the digital process and make it easier for people to view applications after Taylor Wimpey’s proposals for the Helensburgh Golf Club site went live on the local authority’s website at the end of last month.

The major residential development, featuring 309 houses, will also involve the construction of a new clubhouse and the creation of a new par three course.

The existing clubhouse will be demolished and six new golf holes created to replace those earmarked for the new houses on the site.

The documents associated with the application - including more than 20 objections so far - are publicly accessible through the council’s online planning portal.

But at the first 2022 meeting of Helensburgh Community Council (HCC), members criticised the “muddle” of information.

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HCC treasurer, Stewart Noble, said he had “never before seen such a poorly presented planning application” on the council’s website, and asked the local authority to hold the application in abeyance until it is tidied up online.

Mr Noble said: “I looked at the environmental impact assessment report and - as best I could count - it consists of 53 separate documents, and these do not appear to be in any logical order.

“Based on this, I reckon that there may be in the order of 500 documents in total in the application.

“Surely, surely there must be a better way of presenting this to the public.

“The cynic in me wonders whether this is part of a Machiavellian plot to make it impossible or at least very difficult for the general public to scrutinise this application properly.

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“In its current form it will be very difficult for the public to understand - and of course we in the community council are duty bound to represent them.”

The application can be viewed online by searching for the reference code 21/01879/PP at argyll-bute.gov.uk/planning-and-environment.

At the time this article was published, 33 objections to the application had been published on Argyll and Bute Council's website.

A spokesperson for the local authority told the Advertiser: “With major applications of this type, there is inevitably a large amount of information to support the submission, particularly when an environmental impact assessment submission is included.

“The information is available to view on our website in line with normal practice for such applications.

“A printed copy of all plans and documents will be available to the community council along with a digital copy via USB.

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“A more concise information pack will also be available to view at the Civic Centre.”

A spokesperson for Taylor Wimpey West Scotland and Helensburgh Golf Club told the Advertiser: “The information to support our proposals for development at Helensburgh Golf Club has been supplied in the format required by both the local authority and indeed the Scottish Government’s e-planning system, which applies to any planning application in Scotland.

“This is a technically complex application, and we fully appreciate this has generated a number of documents to review.

“In order to be as helpful as possible, we can confirm that we are in the process of supplying hard copies of the planning application and all supporting documents to the council this week.

“The council will then distribute the information to Helensburgh Community Council and the Helensburgh and Lomond Civic Centre as agreed in our discussions with the local authority.”

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