Don't damage our town centre

Fiona Howard • Published 18 Mar 2010 12:37 0 Comments

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THE people of Helensburgh have been issued a dire warning - play your part or lose your town centre.

As the first round of consultations on how best to spend Helensburgh's redevelopment £6.6m windfall began, townsfolk were warned that if they do not engage with the process their town centre may be irreparably damaged.

The warning comes from the Helensburgh and Lomond Chamber of Commerce traffic management committee who fear than unless enough people make their voices heard Helensburgh may be saddled with a scheme which just won't work.

"Helensburgh needs to be a place where people want to work, want to live and want to visit," said committee chairman Ian Stewart this week, "and we should not sterilise the town centre."

The committee is concerned about proposals which include shared surfaces where pedestrians and cars use the same space, an increase in one way streets and about a loss of town centre on-street parking.

They want a town centre which works with the well established street scene in Helensburgh, which gives the town the potential to be a stop-and-shop town for people from the rural area who rely on cars and which can be managed without unnecessary costs.

They describe the project, known as CHORD (Cambeltown, Helensburgh, Oban, Rothesay and Dunoon), as "an exciting opportunity for the town" but say that they are concerned about the suggested need for "radical and invasive traffic management proposals achieved at the possible expense of the town's distinctive and unique sense of place".

And Mr Stewart said: "We recognise that this is an opportunity to refresh the feel of the town and revitalise its heart through physical and economic regeneration."

But he urged everyone to play their part in the consultation process to "ensure that this is achieved and that Helensburgh benefits from an imaginative, high quality design solution that is commensurate in quality to its heritage and unique sense of place."

Detailed report in the Advertiser.

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