A key site on Helensburgh waterfront could be taken over and used as a public facility using community empowerment legislation.
An expression of interest has been registered by Helensburgh Community Council for the ‘grey area’ in front of the town’s new £23m leisure centre, which opened last August.
The site was put on the market in January ‘with favourable planning status’ by Argyll and Bute Council, which previously said it could be used for retail.
But earlier this month it was revealed that no offers had been made for the West Clyde Street site.
And last night community councillors agreed to register an expression of interest ‘on behalf of the community about this public asset’.
In March the community council ran a poll asking what the public wanted to see on the 1.38-acre pierhead site, and the top priorities were maximising its potential for young people while providing shops – but not on that site.
The Community Empowerment Act gave community bodies to make requests to local authorities for any land or buildings they feel they could make better use of.
They can request ownership, lease or other rights as they wish.
Public authorities must transparently assess and agree to the request unless there are reasonable grounds for refusal.
The community council’s objectives in the project include:
- Retaining public access
- Providing features that complement existing leisure facilities and can be used by a wide age range
- Opening up scope for charitable funding
- Maximising views of and from the site
- Minimising maintenance costs by working with community groups
- Maximising the potential commercial return without impacting the other objectives
Suggested uses include flowerbeds in an allotment arrangement, an outdoor gym and a skatepark for the Helensburgh Skatepark Project.
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