HELENSBURGH residents are being invited to have their say on plans to relocate and extend a piece of artwork in the town marking the western end of the John Muir Way.
The current stone sculpture, on the esplanade opposite Colquhoun Street, is set to be moved and improved as part of the waterfront redevelopment, and the results of a study looking at potential options have just been published.
Five online workshops took place earlier this year to gauge public opinion on the new artwork, delivered by the team behind the award-winning outdoor museum in Colquhoun Square.
Now WAVEparticle, on behalf of the Green Action Trust, which manages the walking route, is seeking the thoughts of locals on how best to move the project forward.
With funding from the Scottish Government’s Scotland Loves Local Fund, administered by Scotland’s Towns Partnership, the study assessed eight different locations in the town, eventually settling on the civic space set to be built with the new leisure centre by Sinclair Street and West Clyde Street as the “only viable option”.
One of the principle ideas developed as a way to extend the existing artwork is to extrude the disc at the centre into a column - becoming a plinth, a vertical lighting column, or indeed a sculptural work.
The report on the study says: “In choosing between enhancements to the civic space or a newly commissioned artwork, this report suggests spending money to supercharge the site seems a better approach and gives the best chance of an integrated whole.
“It should also be noted that the original brief focused on the need for a vertical marker to orientate the John Muir Way participants, the advantage of the civic centre space is its proximity to the clock tower. An unmissable vertical marker on the promenade’s horizon.”
The study was originally commissioned as it was felt that the existing artwork was insufficiently conspicuous as a marker for the trail because it did not rise above ground level.
Pending feedback on the report, which members of the public have until midnight this Sunday, September 26 to contribute, the Green Action Trust will seek funding to progress quickly to the next stage of the project, which will include artwork design with further consultation, and then manufacture.
To add comments on the artwork study visit the short online survey at surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ArtworkJMW.
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