PLANS have been revealed for a former care home near Helensburgh to be partly demolished, and replaced by residential accommodation.

The former site of Lochside Care Home in Shandon, which closed in the summer of 2022, is the subject of an application by Lochside Care Ltd.

The proposal involves a change of use of the care home to form residential apartments, and four houses to be built on the site.

A decision from Argyll and Bute Council’s planning officers is expected by late July, and comments can now be submitted by the public.

A design statement by planning agents Hammond Design said: “The project involves the partial demolition of ‘Lochside Nursing Home’ which is closed at the present time.

“Demolition works will remove the late 20th century single storey wing to the south of the building.

"The original dwelling dating from the 19th century (known variously as Berriedale, Ballikinrain House and Gully Bridge House) will be retained, refurbished and converted to private apartments.

"The residual land to the south of the site will be developed to create four new private dwellings.

“Planning permission exists on the site for a proposal to completely demolish the existing building and to construct a new 68 bed care home facility.

“This project was formally initiated in March 2019 and the consent remains live, however commercial conditions have significantly altered post-pandemic and the original proposals are far less economically viable in the current financial climate.”

The statement added: “There are two key aspects to the design proposals. Firstly the refurbishment of the existing care home building, which seeks to retain the history and character of the site by returning the original 19th century house element to a size and style which will be close to the original layout and form depicted on historic maps, encompassing the villa and gatehouse footprint.

“The building will be refurbished to create five modern apartments of varying size, with outdoor amenity space allocated for each dwelling all taking advantage of the picturesque lochside setting.

“Secondly the site to the south of the existing house will be redeveloped with the addition of four new dwellings.

"These individual dwellings have been designed to be of a similar scale to existing residential development within the settlement of Shandon.”

To view the plans and submit comments, visit the council’s planning portal at argyll-bute.gov.uk and use the reference number 24/00888/PP.