A public display is being held this weekend by a group protesting against Cove Sailing Club’s plans for a new clubhouse.
Cove Seafront Conservation Group says it is staging the event in Cove Burgh Hall to help communities all over the Rosneath Peninsula understand the impact of the plans.
The display this Sunday (November 19) from 10.30am to 1.30pm will show the area as it currently is, possible alternatives and will also have links to Argyll and Bute Council’s planning website and the proposed plans.
Tea, coffee, sandwiches and baking will be available free of charge and there will be members of the group on hand to chat to visitors
The controversial plan has attracted 36 comments in support and 32 objections – the council’s planning, protective services and licensing committee has been recommended to approve it at a local hearing in the burgh hall on November 29.
The sailing club says it is plan is for a modern building that meets the needs of the members and community groups, while being sympathetic to the surrounding area.
But Ken Bradshaw, chairman of the seafront conservation group, said the site was in the heart of the Cove and Kilcreggan conservation area.
“We have serious concerns that this proposed development will irreversibly and negatively impact the current open aspects enjoyed by all members of our communities, as well as altering the character of the village from the water,” he added.
“It is very important to emphasise that we are fully supportive of the need for the sailing club to replace its current building, but we do strongly oppose the proposed structure. Our area deserves better – for our young and older people, for villagers and visitors alike, now and in the future.
“We firmly believe that better alternatives are available which will satisfy the club’s need for a new building and the community’s right to preserve the character of its area.
“The sailing club’s site is almost unique in the conservation area as one of only two buildings on the seaward side of the road – we regret that Cove Sailing Club, as the custodian of the site, has not taken the opportunity to present its proposed plans to the wider village communities.”
The group was formed by objectors, including sailing club members and other local residents, who say they oppose the imminent threat to all the peninsula’s communities posed by this private members’ club.
They say that the new building:
- Is significantly larger than the current structure and set over two levels is proposed, more than doubling the club’s present premises – the current club is a single level and recessed into the shoreline, making it barely noticeable from the road.
- Will have a ridge height of this new building of approximately 8.34 metres or 27.33 feet – almost the height of two double-decker buses – and the club’s length will also increase from 23 to 25.5 metres.
- Will have a negative impact on villagers’ and visitors’ enjoyment of the area as they walk, cycle or drive past, with a large building instead of open aspects across Loch Long and the Firth of Clyde.
A spokesman for the sailing club said the club was delighted that the plans had been recommended for approval.
He added: “This has been the result of close consultation with the planners to come up with a design which meets the needs of the club while being sympathetic to the surrounding area.
“The current clubhouse (constructed of Portacabins) is of no architectural merit and is in a state of disrepair. It would be replaced by a modern building that meets the needs of the sailing club and other local community groups.
“The new building is a single storey building above car park level and has been set at this level to remove current flooding concerns, to meet disabled access needs and to connect into the sewer system. The design has been approved by the planning department and no objections were received from statutory consultees.
“A planning hearing will be held by Argyll and Bute Council on November 29. This will provide those who have commented on the planning application, both for and against, the opportunity to have their say in front of the local councillors.
“The sailing club has raised £100,000 towards the cost of the new building and fundraising efforts continue.”
Nice to see some things never change; the hardy perennial shorthand of journalism, measuring things by comparing them to double-decker buses. How many elephants does the proposed clubhouse weigh? 😀
db, consudering the number of elephants in the room it will weigh quite a lot.
The spat over the proposed rebuilding of Cove Sailing Club is obviously another example of the fractious nature of relationships within the Club. The objectors, many from CSS, have offered no suggestions of alternative designs that may be achievable within the club’s finances just vague suggestions that ‘something’ different and artistic should be aspired to.
The mainstay of the objections is the claimed interruption of the inspiring view down the Clyde! The photo reproduced in the article clearly shows that the existing club blocks any view of the waterscape from the road, the proposed modest increase in height does not change this. The limited angle of the shot fails to show that to the East of the clubhouse and all the way to Cove Burgh Hall there is also, no view of the water, just unkempt trees and scrub. Have any of the naysayers bothered to walk along the road and see if there is a view to protect?
The second thrust of the objectors is an allusion to a Greek Thomson landscape; may I ask if a steeply pitched tiled roof with turrets, which would be significantly higher than the proposal, would silence their objection?
Please, can the Club be allowed to replace its crumbling estate before it washes away and without breaking the bank?
Have you been in the clubhouse in recent years Anon? I went to the regatta and saw a notice asking people to help raise money for the new clubhouse – showing a very different design. People who donated on this basis might be surprised by what they’ve paid for – so yes, there are alternatives.
Your comments about the current building ruining the view are rather unusual.
Doh,
I am not saying that the current or new clubhouse is ruining the view just that it is by no means the worst intrusion into the views. The club area because it is clear of trees offers one of the few places to have a clear view South until one is alongside the grass at School Road.
I am interested as to where the ‘Sea front Preservation Society’ sprang from as far as I know they have no mandate to represent the the views of the local inhabitants. are they a single interest group who are only formed to attack the CSS Committee and will do nothing to enhance the sea front. Much the same as the RPWCDT has done nothing to enhance the sea front just promoted art activities for they own and friends gratification not to the advantage of all the population
You didn’t say ruin, true, but you did say block. The development trust reference is interesting, offensive and irrelevant, other than perhaps revealing your identity.
I don’t know anything about this group either, although you got their name wrong; perhaps if it had existed earlier we wouldn’t have sone if those ugly modern buildings at the bottom of Shanton Road. Or perhaps we would.
For Annoymouse, as the article says, the event to be held in the Burgh Hall is to let the wider public know just what is being planned for a replacement building for Cove Sailing Club. Many of the members don’t have any idea of what is planned, for example getting rid of the patio area, having a huge undercroft area which could swallow up to one third of the expected build cost just to store half a dozen dinghies! There are many other reasons why the planned building is wrong, come along to the Burgh Hall on Sunday and find out for yourself