Helensburgh and Rosneath set for slice of 'town centres' cash

Enhancing pedestrian access at the pier is one of 11 ‘transformational projects’ to be considered by councillors at a meeting later this week as the authority considers how to spend a total of £1.179m from the Scottish Government’s Town Centres Fund.

A report to be considered by a full council meeting on Thursday, June 27 suggests allocating £85,000 from the fund to work on pedestrian access improvements at the pier.

The proposal comes after councillors in Helensburgh and Lomond endorsed a separate report recommending that major spending on structural repairs to the pier should be ruled out on cost grounds.

The new report, meanwhile, also recommends that £35,000 should be allocated towards “additional community and events resource” at Hermitage Park in Helensburgh.

And a further £90,000 has been earmarked for “community driven enhancements” at the Howie Park in Rosneath.

The report, by Pippa Milne, the council’s executive director of development and infrastructure services, also recommends spending sums of between £44,000 and £200,000 on projects in Lochgilphead, Bowmore, Campbeltown, Oban, Tobermory, Dunoon and Rothesay.

Ms Milne states in her report: “A key constraint of the Fund is the tight timescale in terms of delivery. Projects need to be completed, started on site or at the very least have a signed contract agreed by April 1, 2020.

“Given that the projects themselves will not be agreed until mid-June this leaves only 8-9 months to fully develop the agreed projects, undertake the necessary procurement and award a contract and appoint a contractor.

“The constraints related to the timescales for the projects precludes extensive engagement with communities over project proposals which would normally characterise the approach taken by council officers.

“It has been a challenging task to identify town centre projects from across the geographical area of Argyll that fit with the aims and objectives of the fund and are deliverable within a very challenging timeframe.”

The full list of recommended ‘transformational projects’ is as follows:

Lochgilphead Front Green - £200,000 (total project cost £1.53m)

Bowmore public realm enhancements - £85,000 (total project cost £85,900)

Small-scale shop front improvements in Campbeltown - £50,000 (total project cost £50,000)

Rockfield in Oban - £90,000 (total project cost £3m)

Oban town centre interpretation signage - £44,000 (total project cost £90,000)

Tobermory harbour and public realm enhancements - £150,000 (indicative total project cost £262,000)

Community-driven enhancements at Howie Park in Rosneath (event space and public realm) - £90,000 (total project cost £90,000)

Additional community and events resource at Hermitage Park - £35,000 (total project cost £35,000)

Helensburgh pier pedestrian access enhancements - £85,000 (total cost of full pier repairs given as £800,000-plus)

Dunoon public realm and bandstand area, provision of lighting and sound system for public outdoor events space - £200,000 (total project cost £200,000)

Rothesay pontoons - £150,000 (total project cost £150,000)