There is no space for a skate park in the two preferred bids for Helensburgh waterfront, Argyll and Bute Council has confirmed.
On Tuesday councillors met behind closed doors to discuss their officials’ choice of two preferred bidders for the prime 1.38-acre site in front of the town’s leisure centre.
Both are thought to be retail-based, after consultants paid by the council warned that shoppers’ spending would leak’ to nearby towns unless there was more choice.
After the meeting the council stated: “The two preferred developers have submitted bids for the entire waterfront commercial area site.
“However, as agreed by the Helensburgh and Lomond area committee, they have both been advised that the skatepark requires to be accommodated within the waterfront site unless a suitable alternative location is identified.”
A report to the meeting said the council was paying DB3 Architects to draw up plans for a skate park at Kidston Park, after it was agreed as the preferred option in December.
Read more: ‘Massive support’ for skatepark on waterfront
At that meeting the council’s depute leader Gary Mulvaney accused those who wanted the skatepark to return to the waterfront of ‘rewriting history’, saying: “It was always clear that was not the permanent home.”
However his remarks are contradicted by a key council document which recommended approval of the leisure centre design six years ago.
This refers to ‘protecting land for future development of a skate park facility’ and states: “We have safeguarded an area at the north of the site for the future development of public realm / skate park / play park facilities.”
A main element of the project is described as: “The safeguarding of specified areas for future developments… including: retail and landscaping / skate park / play park.”
The document adds: “The designs are based on what people have said overall that they want, taking account of feasibility and cost e.g. providing catering facility, safeguarding an area for future development of facilities such as a skate park.”
The full document – which also states that the estimated cost of £18m was ‘robust’ -is here: HELENSBURGH WATERFRONT DEVELOPMENT
The final cost of the leisure centre was £23m.
It was a requirement in the details by Avison Young. We certainly built it in to the Helensburgh Community Council bid. If they didn’t they have not fulfilled the requirements. At the meet On Tuesday the Skateboard project were assured they would not be moved from the Waterfront until another skatepark was completed and ready for action. Although they did of course make it perfectly clear that their preferred option was the Waterfront which is of course what is in the Helensburgh Community Council Bid.