A ‘mini CHORD’ project to develop the heart of Kilcreggan would cost £3m, a meeting heard this week.
Ideas to improve the centre of the village were put forward by Rosneath Peninsula West Community Development Trust earlier this year.
And on Thursday the trust’s convener Murdo MacDonald appealed for help with at least the first phase of the project, which would cost £200,000.
The centre of the village had become ‘dilapidated, a bit of a mess’ he told the Helensburgh and Lomond Community Planning Group yesterday, with ‘a motorway barrier’ beside the road and views of the pier blocked by the piermaster’s hut.
Consultants erz drew up proposals earlier this year which Mr MacDonald compared to the CHORD project which had redeveloped towns across Argyll and Bute.
“It is a serious bit of work to try and make Kilcreggan attractive again – we have got a really good plan and to do the whole thing would cost £3m,” he said.
“Kilcreggan pier is one of the only Victorian piers on the Clyde – it is a wonderful asset but we need help.
“We have a coordinated plan – we can’t do it all at once but if we can do it in phases we will end up with a coordinated village.”
The erz proposals were funded by a grant from Awards For All, but Mr MacDonald said the project itself would need to be paid for by Argyll and Bute Council via its community action plan, rather than grants.
Charlotte McLean, another director of the trust, said parking was a problem.
“People drive to the village and if there is nowhere to park they will just drive on and spend their money elsewhere,” she said
“The first area we thought we would focus on is the hub – apart from the burgh hall there isn’t anywhere we can gather as a community.”
The meeting in Cove Burgh Hall heard that the next iteration of the community action plan wouldn’t be until April 2021, but in the meantime the group would be happy to offer support in kind, rather than financially.
You wait 100 years for someone to try and redevelop Kilcreggan and then two cone along at once