The centre of Kilcreggan’s village could be in line for a ‘mini-CHORD’ improvement project with a £200,000 budget, it was revealed this week.
The news came after all the businesses in the area took the dramatic step of uniting in a call for action from Argyll and Bute Council.
They signed a petition highlighting problems including overgrown vegetation, broken picnic tables and a lack of parking.
On Tuesday night Cove and Kilcreggan Community Council agreed to set up a steering group to come up with ideas – a slipway, swings at the old surgery site, pontoons and moorings were suggested.
Derek Fowlis said that all the businesses in the area had come together to support the petition, then a meeting was held with MSP and Councillor Maurice Corry who said £200,000 could be available.
“He told us that there is £3m that has been set aside by Argyll and Bute Council for rural communities to enhance the areas – a mini-CHORD project.
“He has proposed that we put ideas forward, and we would also need to get some sort of costings and get back to him.”
Community council chairman Nick Davies welcomed the move but urged caution: “We do need to be realistic about this and stress the sum of money that is being talked about – £200,000 wouldn’t even buy a swing park.
“We also need Cove improved as well.”
John Auld said action was needed: “In the summer there are quite a lot of people from outside the area coming to the village, some of them sit on the benches but they are all currently goosed, and the last time we complained about a bench it was taken away.
“People come on the ferry and on bikes – we need to enhance facilities. You don’t want to bring people in to an area that is unkempt .
“A lot of people who signed up for this felt that the villages were being overlooked.”
Murdo MacDonald said the Rosneath Peninsula West Community Development Trust had organised an architectural competition focusing on the centre of the village in recent years, adding: “We had entries from all over the world but they were a bit avant-garde.”
Mr Corry was not at the meeting but he was represented by John McMurtrie, who confirmed the councillor and MSP was looking into the issue.
The petition was signed on behalf of businesses including the Creggans Inn, the barber’s shop, the Old Boatyard, the Café, Kilcreggan Garage, Boots pharmacy, Kilcreggan post office, the village stores in both Kilcreggan and Cove, Kilcreggan Hotel, Knockderry House Hotel in Cove, Kilcreggan Antiques and the Garden and Gifts Centre.
It reads:
The residents of Kilcreggan, including its businesses, are appealing to Argyll and Bute Council to address the condition and general appearance of its centre abutting the only operational passenger ferry pier on the north of the Clyde.
The area just off the pier, which is more than 100 years old and having an iconic status, was originally laid out years ago with picnic tables, pathways and steps to the beach. Unfortunately in the intervening years this has been allowed to become overgrown, picnic tables broken/missing, little sign of grass cutting, and full of wild vegetation including sycamore trees which have been allowed to grow to maturity, obscuring the sea view for all including customers of the café and refurbished public house, the antithesis of the brilliant improvements of the pierhead at Gourock.
In spite of the best efforts of our community council and elected councillors, over many years no investment in improvements has been made since the original layout. That reflects badly on subsequent councils. Deputy leader of Argyll and Bute Council Ellen Morton has gone on record that funds will be made available for improvements to the villages on the Rosneath Peninsula in the future, but with an election due in the next 12 months this will not be any time soon. Hence we are asking for immediate action to immediately address this deficit in Kilcreggan to include more provision for public parking, which is desperately needed.
With Kilcreggan, along with Cove where a major tidying up is also long overdue, being central to the Clyde Sea Lochs Trail, created to encourage tourist traffic (plus walkers, cyclists and ferry passengers) this surely suggests that this appeal has great merit.
A simple improvement would be disabled access to the shops – I am mobility-impaired and cannot shop in Kilcreggan due to the height of the payement without any handrails.
Don’t let the people who ran Helensburgh CHORD do it.
Immediate action is required to get the areas both sides of pier tided up also the seating cleaned to allow visitors to have a seat as it is it is unacceptable in a tourist area .
Grass ,bushes,hedges ,trees are all over grown!