Helensburgh’s £23m new leisure centre has been shortlisted for a national planning award.
The waterfront development by Argyll and Bute Council is one of six buildings in the running for the award for best use of arts, culture or sport in placemaking category of the 2023 UK Planning Awards.
The council’s statement on the awards website says Helensburgh is undergoing ‘a decade-long regeneration’.
It adds: “Masterplanning of the town made a strong commitment to ‘town centre first’ principles and connecting the development to the Clyde and adjoining civic spaces.
“It’s been a collaboration with many but notably the navy who wanted to use sporting facilities to connect their personnel into the town and encourage ‘off base’ integration.
“Anyone who has completed development of this scale ‘on time’ during the pandemic deserves an award. Not been easy.”
Contractors Heron Bros completed work on time last August but the project had been delayed significantly before their involvement – the swimming pool was originally scheduled to open in April 2020 and cost £17m.
The other shortlisted projects in that category are Brent Cross Town Electrical Sub-Station, CAPA College in Wakefield, Rochester Riverside – Phases 1 & 2, Windrush Public Art Commissions in Hackney and York Place, the new headquarters of the Royal Academy of Dance.
Also shortlisted in the same awards is the Partnership for Protecting and Enhancing Argyll’s Rainforest, a partnership project with Argyll and Isles Coast and Countryside Trust and Scottish and Southern Electric (SSE), supported by the council and NatureScot.
The council’s catering and cleaning team is shortlisted for three national Facility Management Awards in the innovation and community focus categories.
These are for pilot project to delivery school meals to remote and island communities, a
service redesign that created cook, freeze and production kitchens and the Flexible Food Fund lto help support residents with cost of living challenges.
Depute council leader Gary Mulvaney said:“We’re working hard to deliver real opportunities for communities to help grow the local economy by providing innovative solutions in service delivery and design.
“From supporting climate friendly projects to world firsts such as the drone delivery project, our communities are the beating heart of everything we do.
“I’m incredibly proud of all the hard work leading up to the award nominations and seeing how much all the individual projects benefit both residents and visitors in the area.”
Leave a Reply