Community Council claim people “aren’t being properly consulted”

PEOPLE in Helensburgh aren’t being properly consulted on the new leisure centre which will be at the heart of the town’s £18 million waterfront redevelopment.

That’s the view of the chair and vice-chair of the town’s community council after a ‘pre-application consultation’ on the new centre got under way earlier this week.

And a group of expert architects in the town has also expressed dismay at the proposed design of the centre, describing it as little more than “a box on the pier”.

The first CGI image of how the new centre might look was published in the Advertiser last week, and display boards showing the building in more detail were put up at three venues in the town on Monday.

Three public drop-in events will give members of the public the chance to ask questions of the project team on March 26, April 30 and May 16.

Following Helensburgh Community Council’s monthly meeting last week, chairman Norman Muir said: “Our responsibility is to represent the community and its interests and take any action necessary to help them along, and I don’t think the community is getting the information it needs.

“You would have thought there would be some sort of design panel or user group, or maybe even two designs produced for the community to make a judgement on.

“People are not being asked questions on pretty basic information. When the new centre is built the community has to live with it, so it has to be, essentially, their decision.

“Don’t get us wrong: we want a new leisure centre. But this is a multi million pound project, using the public’s money, and it’s got to have the consensus of the community behind it. We’re just trying to get the best possible outcome for Helensburgh.”

HCC’s vice-chair, Peter Brown, added: “The council has referred to design proposals ‘to which the public has already contributed through previous engagement exercises’.

“I don’t feel the public have actually been provided with input into these particular design proposals and we haven’t had the reasons explained.

“We endorse the council’s desire to replace the leisure centre with something appropriate for the community. But we have concerns about aspects of how this has been done.”

Mr Brown gave a presentation to last week’s HCC meeting on the history of plans to regenerate Helensburgh’s waterfront in which he outlined feedback received so far, including the view that the proposed new design amounts to little more than “a big box on the pier”.

Local architect Iain MacLaren, from Architecture and Design Helensburgh, which advises the community council on design aspects of major development plans in the town, said: “We had concerns that the building`s orientation took insufficient advantage of its waterside setting, and that its remote position would leave it as an isolated and shapeless block on the horizon. There appeared to be no formal development brief for the pierhead site, thus leaving many questions regarding when and how the Leisure Centre would eventually be integrated into the townscape.

“We hope that the council`s project team will  work with everyone during the pre-application planning process towards an improved proposal which would take advantage of this unique opportunity to not simply provide a new building, but develop a more aspirational vision for Helensburgh.”

The design also attracted a lukewarm response from some of the Advertiser’s online readers after we published the first image on social media last week: one called it “a waste of money”, while another said: “It looks like the office junior spent maybe half his lunch hour in knocking out that design.”

Others, though, were more positive, with one reader saying the proposed design would be “a good asset on the pier”, while another said they thought it looked “quite smart”.

Councillor Gary Mulvaney, Argyll and Bute’s depute leader and policy lead for capital regeneration, said: “We have already had sessions for specific focus groups and will have further public consultation. We can’t continuously keep going back to the starting blocks. The public want us get on with it and that is what we will do.”

A council spokeswoman added: “The Waterfront Development is set to be a fantastic facility for Helensburgh and the wider Lomond area.

“The views of the public have contributed already to the design proposals and we have had positive feedback during the recent focus groups.

“The formal consultation process commenced on February 26 and is due to run through to May 18 and all comments will be welcome.

“At the end of the consultation period we will assess everything that has been said to us to determine the best solution that meets the agreed assessment criteria which includes design, function, deliverability and affordability.

“Comments will also welcome once the formal planning application has been submitted.”

 

Article originally appeared on Helensburgh Advertiser

The Institute cannot confirm the accuracy of this story or confirm that it presents a balanced view. If you feel this is inaccurate we would welcome your perspective and evidence that this is the case.

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