A CYCLE path linking Helensburgh with Cardross and Dumbarton took a step closer to completion this week when the public in Cardross were able to attend a consultation to see the plans.

Between 50 and 60 people attended the consultation held on Monday and had the plans and ideas explained to them by Argyll and Bute Council officers Colin Young and Callum Robertson.

There are four possible proposed routes for the cycle path through Cardross, and the public had the chance to fill in questionnaires which will be analysed to see which route is more favoured before more detailed plans are drawn up.

But with progress being made, project manager Callum Robertson is hopeful at least some of the work can be completed this financial year.

Only two sections of the route have been completed so far - between Helensburgh's Waitrose store and Moss Road, to the east of the town, and a short stretch between Ferry Road and Station Road in Cardross.

The route through Cardross was split into three sections for the purpose of Monday's event, with each section having multiple options.

The first section runs from Cardross Station to the playing fields; the second section from the playing fields to the A814, and the third from the A814 to Darleith Road or Cardross Primary School.

As well as allowing the public to have their say at the consultation Mr Robertson made a short presentation to Cardross Community Council (CCC) on Monday night, answering questions from members and the public and leaving questionnaires for them to have their say.

Mr Robertson told the community council: "We had a very successful drop-in with 50 or 60 people, we talked people through the designs and ideas and tried to answer any questions and listen to their feedback.

"Some options are easier to implement than others but we will analyse the comments from today and see what the consensus is."

Following the presentation the floor was opened to questions. One member of the public asked if they had the money to maintain the cycle path.

Mr Robertson replied that maintenance was a constant pressure on him but he would have to maintain it with the resources he had available already unless further funding became available.

Another member of the public asked if they had considered other routes that were not options highlighted in the presentation.

Mr Robertson explained that alternative routes had been suggested during the day but the proposed routes were trying to do what he could with what he could control as not all the land was council owned.

Mr Robertson said: "There is no fixed line, we wanted to get your views as a community and we will look at the views and come up with more detailed proposals."

When asked about a potential timescale Mr Robertson explained that depending on the difficulty of the route work could take between one and four months but agreements had to be put in place first.

Convener Tony Davey explained that he would try and get an update from Callum in time for the next CCC meeting in August to see how things have progressed.