Consultation on five towns’ regeneration off to a flying start

Irvine Bay Regeneration Company is delighted with the feedback from consultation events with local residents, businesses, public agencies and national organisations held in recent weeks.

Town regeneration plans are to be developed for the five towns of Ardrossan, Saltcoats, Stevenston, Kilwinning and Irvine which aim to revitalise each of the town centres and help to boost the local economy.

Patrick Wiggins, Chief Executive of Irvine Bay said: “We want to support the physical and economic regeneration of these town centres for the benefit of local people, businesses and visitors.”

He added: “The involvement and participation of local residents and the business community is vital as we develop these plans, and we are particularly encouraged by the interest shown in these first events.”

The regeneration company has appointed three specialist Glasgow firms to assist with developing the new plans.

Working on the regeneration plan for the three towns, Halcrow’s Head of Regeneration Scott Davidson said: “The stakeholder event has given us, in addition to the technical outputs, an understanding of the commitment to the future of the three towns amongst key people and organisations in the area. From the level of attendance and discussions held, there is a strong desire to put Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston back on the map.”

Key themes to emerge from the three towns’ session held at the Ardeer Neighbourhood Centre included the need to raise awareness of the towns amongst a wider community and business audience as well as the promotion of the coast and water-based activities. It was well recognised that jobs are needed, as is a choice of housing and a desire to raise the urban quality of the three towns to attract more tourism and visitors.

Austin-Smith:Lord are working on the Kilwinning regeneration plan. Graham Ross, Director said: “The Kilwinning consultation workshops have established critical and emerging issues which the town regeneration plan will have to address. The workshops were very well attended. The evident enthusiasm and the contributions from the local residents, business community and key stakeholders indicated a positive outlook whilst highlighting areas of concern.

He continued: “The outcome of the workshops has set a challenge for the regeneration plan to develop a visionary yet deliverable proposal for Kilwinning which can inspire change in the town which is realistic and viable. Recurring themes demonstrated the need to focus attention on the town centre and Main Street in particular, a desire to improve access to key facilities, amenities and services and to project a future vision for Kilwinning which builds upon its rich history and built heritage to define how the town can operate in the 21st century as a place to live, work and invest in.”

Kath MacTaggart, Senior Landscape Architect, BDP developing the regeneration plan for Irvine said: “The format of one-to-one interviews with elected members and other stakeholders worked very well in Irvine. We gained valuable information from those we interviewed, and we are really excited about taking the plans through to the next stage.”

Over the coming months local residents will have further opportunities to participate in a series of local events and displays.