CLUES have been revealed for the first time as to the nine bids to redevelop a key corner of Helensburgh's waterfront.

Two of the proposals have been public and open from the community, but the council has kept the other seven secretive.

Now a consultation is set for just one week to give residents a chance to find out more. And even then, spaces are limited.

Argyll and Bute Council, in a release, would only say that the bids include "retail, food outlets, hotels, community proposals and electric vehicle charging points".

The community has repeatedly voiced their opposition to a large retailer on the site between the new Helensburgh Leisure Centre and West Clyde Street.

They have also championed the site being a permanent home to a skate park which was previously at the site and is being restored on a temporary basis.

Earlier, the Helensburgh Skatepark Project said they had not heard from the council at all about the consultation progress.

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Councillor Gary Mulvaney, policy lead for finance and commercial services, said: "Ongoing investment in Helensburgh town centre will help create a number of opportunities for local residents including new facilities and jobs.

"Transforming the waterfront into an exciting space will also provide a boost to the local economy and help keep spending local.

"We are still in the very early stages of looking at what is possible for the site. To help us identify priorities, we want to hear from a wide range of local voices and understand what matters most. This will help inform the next stage of the development.”

The council said the initial engagement phase would look at the general proposals to help progress to a preferred bidder. They said there is no planning application as yet.

Helensburgh Community Council put in one of the nine expressions of interest in the site with a "desire to maximise the potential of the site for the youth of Helensburgh" and "a desire to have additional retail facilities, but not on this site".

A second community bid proposed a "Helensburgh Lighthouse" for the site.

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Sarah Davies, of Helensburgh Community Council, raised the matter during the meeting of Argyll and Bute Council’s Helensburgh and Lomond area committee on Tuesday, June 13.

She said: “We are really pleased that the community engagement is now taking place about the waterfront. However, a couple of people have been in touch to ask how the community groups consulted have been decided.

“I have been invited as part of Helensburgh Community Council, Fun First have been invited, and Plastic Free Helensburgh have been invited.

“But the Friends of Hermitage Park have not received an invite, and neither has the Skatepark Project. Can you invite those people, or clarify how the decisions were made?”

There are afternoon and evening sessions running from Saturday, June 17 to Friday, June 23.

The council said anyone involved in a local group or business should email Helensburghwaterfrontdevelopment@argyll-bute.gov.uk. They said places for the sessions are limited.