A date and venue has been set for the hearing into supermarket firm Waitrose’s application to build a foodstore and petrol station in Helensburgh.

The hearing will start at 10.30am on Tuesday, February 21 2012 in Helensburgh’s Victoria Hall.

Councillor Daniel Kelly, chair of the planning, protective services and licensing (PPSL) committee, said the event would provide an opportunity for those who made a representation to Waitrose’s application for the Cardross Road site to speak to the committee.

“Last month, the PPSL committee decided that the number of representations received and the complex issues which this application raises made it appropriate to hold a discretionary hearing,” he said.

“I am pleased that a date and venue has now been set. Anybody who made a representation will be entitled to speak and I would expect, given the level of interest in this application, that there will be a number of people who take up that offer.”

As a separate issue, public consultation is currently underway on draft masterplans for two other sites in Helensburgh – the pier head and the former Hermitage Academy site. Once finalised, the documents will inform any future proposals for those key sites.