Local groups and businesses will have a chance to help shape the future of Helensburgh’s waterfront, it was confirmed his week.
Argyll and Bute Council received nine bids to develop the site, including retail, food outlets, hotels, community proposals and electric vehicle charging points.
The council says it has now appointed independent facilitators to meet local groups and businesses to share information and gather feedback on what the waterfront could look like.
Afternoon and evening sessions will start on Saturday and run until Friday June 23 to enable people to attend.
On Tuesday councillors heard that some local organisations had not been invited – including the skatepark group, which lost its base due to the leisure centre development.
Sarah Davies of Helensburgh Community Council raised the issue at the council’s Helensburgh and Lomond area committee, but policy lead for finance and commercial services Gary Mulvaney said he would arrange for them to be contacted.
He added: “Ongoing investment in Helensburgh town centre will help create a number of opportunities for local residents including new facilities and jobs.
“Transforming the waterfront into an exciting space will also provide a boost to the local economy and help keep spending local.
“We are still in the very early stages of looking at what is possible for the site.
“To help us identify priorities, we want to hear from a wide range of local voices and understand what matters most.
“This will help inform the next stage of the development.”
The council originally said the site would be used for retail, but now says that its initial community engagement phase is ‘looking at general proposals to help progress to the next stage of appointing a preferred bidder’.
There is no planning application at this stage and any application would include a statutory public consultation process.
Anyone who runs or is involved in a local group or business and wish t attend the sessions is asked to email Helensburghwaterfrontdevelopment@argyll-bute.gov.uk. Places for the sessions are limited.
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