Members of the Bute and Cowal area committee gave the green light to the plans for 15 terraced homes and four cottage flats, along with parking for 34 cars, when they met at Eaglesham House on Tuesday.

Planning officers had recommended a condition that the building's external finish should be in white render or reconstituted stone, rather than red facing brick as the application proposed, but none of the councillors present was minded to support that particular condition.

Councillor Len Scoullar produced a letter from Fyne Homes' social economy director, Peter McDonald, stating that the tenders for the work were slightly greater than the funding available from Communities Scotland, and that the added cost of a render finish would make it "almost impossible" to deliver the project.

Planning permission was granted subject to a number of conditions, mostly relating to visual amenity and road safety, but with the condition relating to the external finish removed.

Architect Chris Stewart, who was present at Tuesday's meeting, told us he expected building work to start in early spring, after the worst of the winter weather.

(This story was published in the December 8, 2006 issue of The Buteman.)