THE plans for a new Morrisons supermarket in Helensburgh have taken another step forward after an application was lodged to set up a garden centre on the site.

The store chain has made the proposal, which also includes the siting of an ATM pod at its Cardross Road site, to Argyll and Bute Council.

Although no detailed design statement has been lodged with the planning application, which went live on the council’s website on Friday, location plans indicate that the small facility will occupy a space 9.5 metres long by 4 metres wide in part of the car park nearest the main shop building.

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Planning officers at the authority are expected to make a decision on the application by late November, though members of the public can now make comments on the proposal.

Another separate application has been lodged by the supermarket to situate a scissor lift and canopy as part of building works at the site.

Morrisons is presently recruiting for staff at its new store after the Waitrose supermarket which formerly occupied the building closed in early May.

No definitive date has been announced for the store’s opening, but it’s thought it may be ready for its first customers towards the end of this year.

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