COUNCILLORS in Argyll and Bute have given their unanimous backing to a plea to fight for the future of a closure-threatened bank in Helensburgh.

The Royal Bank of Scotland announced earlier this month that it will be closing its branch in Colquhoun Square on September 25.

Councillor Fiona Howard (Labour, Helensburgh Central) asked fellow elected members to support efforts to save the facility.

She called for the council's leader, Jim Lynch, to write to the bank’s management expressing concern.

The council will also ask bank owner NatWest to reconsider its decision and to engage with the possibility of setting up a local 'banking hub'.

Cllr Howard's emergency motion attracted unanimous support at a full Argyll and Bute Council meeting on April 25.

READ MORE: RBS closure plan sparks furious response in Helensburgh

A petition calling for the NatWest Group to reconsider its decision, organised by Cllr Howard and the Helensburgh Business Group, went live online the day before the meeting and as this article was published had been signed by nearly 300 people.

The 'Stop RBS - Save Our Bank' petition will be officially launched at the 'Market in the Square' event in Helensburgh on Saturday, April 27.

If the RBS branch does close, it will be the third physical branch in Helensburgh to shut in the last five years, following the loss of the Santander and TSB facilities in West and East Princes Street respectively.

Closure would leave the town with just one remaining bank branch, the Bank of Scotland on the north side of Colquhoun Square.

However the Bank of Scotland's owners, the Lloyds Banking Group, have already announced plans to close their branch in Kilcreggan later this year.

Councillor Howard said: “I am asking for this now to coincide with the launch of a campaign at the weekend, led by myself and involving Helensburgh Business Group and Helensburgh Community Council.

“The council’s involvement and support will give added impact and encouragement for the people of Helensburgh and Lomond to take up the fight.

“The bank’s closure date is September 25 and I think the council needs to be seen to be acting now, rather than waiting till June.”

The motion reads: “Argyll and Bute Council deplores the announced closure of the Helensburgh branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland which will leave Helensburgh and Lomond with only one high street bank to serve the whole population and will have a seriously detrimental effect on the area’s many small businesses and retail outlets.”

Councillor Howard also asked that the authority “agrees that the leader of the council should express the council’s concerns to the bank chief executive.

“Also asks bank owner NatWest to reconsider their decision, while at the same time engaging with Cash Access UK and other banking providers to explore the possibility of establishing a banking hub in Helensburgh, as has been done in a number of other Scottish towns.”

The proposal was seconded by Councillor Math Campbell-Sturgess (SNP, Helensburgh and Lomond South), and unanimously agreed.