KINTYRE PUBLIC ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND DROP IN SESSION

[£3.73]

I was very impressed with everything until I got to the AWP table! Once I had made my way round the Chambers to the AWP campaign all they had to view were some pictures on a laptop unlike the other projects which had plans, billboards, leaflets etc! I also had to ask to give my signature - makes me wonder how many signatures they missed out on considering I had to volunteer my support!

Thank you for volunteering your support

Everyone agrees the CHORD dropin was well attended, and this can only be a good thing.
Perhaps the CHORD people could had invested in some billboards, leaflets etc to inform anyone the event was happening in the 1st instance !

Without the AWP campaign mobilising a significant amount of people in a matter of days, you might have been admiring the tumbleweed as well ! (and it would have been a much longer day for the other delegates)

Lastly, we should all really be looking for positives. The AWP campaign was not there to "sell" anything, and therefore wasn't relying on slick advertising or presentations. The current lack of such a facility is already shamefully apparent to the local population, who to their great credit, turned out in the numbers they did to make this a matter of record. (and doubtless enjoyed some of the other displays too - so everyone's a winner)

There's already an excellent thread here on the forum, packed full of information & developments about the all weather pitch. There's also a Facebook Group, a website (www.abandonpitch.com) and an online petition.

[Kintyre Forum News]

BIG TURNOUT FOR CAMPBELTOWN DROP-IN SESSION

A drop in event designed to bring the general public up to speed on the major projects in the pipeline for Campbeltown has attracted hundreds of people.

More than 300 people flocked to Campbeltown’s Town Hall to hear first-hand about the biggest financial investment in the town in a generation.

Representatives from Argyll and Bute Council and its partners were on hand to discuss various projects being undertaken in Campbeltown, including:

The Campbeltown CHORD redevelopment of the Marina

The Campbeltown CHORD regeneration of Kinloch Road, including new social housing from ACHA (representatives from ACHA and its architects was at the event)

Campbeltown infrastructure improvements

The Skycon facility at Machrihanish (a Skycon representative was at the event, along with a representative from ROK, the contractor building the factory extension)

Early proposals for an all weather pitch

Councillor John Semple, Chair of the Campbeltown CHORD Project Board, said the event had been an outstanding success.

“It is very rewarding that so many people are showing such an interest in the ongoing and planned projects, and that they managed to take advantage of having the experts there to discuss them with,” he added.

“I’d like to thank all those who took the trouble to come along. Campbeltown has embarked on an extremely ambitious programme of redevelopment and regeneration, and it is vital that the community feels a part of that.

“An event such as this serves to bring residents right up to speed with all the various projects, and I am delighted not only that it was so well attended, but also that the comments we and our partners received were so overwhelmingly positive.”

[Davie P]

I popped in to the Council Chambers last Wednesday to support the CHORD projects and found all the proposals very interesting. It was great to see the future developments are what exciting changes lie ahead for our wee toon!

I was very impressed with everything until I got to the AWP table! Once I had made my way round the Chambers to the AWP campaign all they had to view were some pictures on a laptop unlike the other projects which had plans, billboards, leaflets etc! I also had to ask to give my signature - makes me wonder how many signatures they missed out on considering I had to volunteer my support! As we were leaving the Chambers at 6.45pm the AWP were all packed up and ready for out the door despite all the other representitives still chatting to members of the public.

Minsyb - yes my thoughts too and unfortunately as a campaign group there was little we could do. It was very much thrown together by the Council in terms of the All Weather Pitch being there and to be honest I'm unsure what was going to be there if the Sports Council AWP Campaign had not asked for a register to note support for the AWP.

As it turns out we heard today there were over 550 names registered in support of the Campbeltown All Weather Pitch campaign last week at the CHORD open day. That is more than 10% of the population of Campbeltown which is amazing! (so thanks too for asking to give your signature).

Putting the AWP to the side I'm keen to find out more about the whole CHORD process in terms of the consultation. Apparently there has been huge public consultation on this but can't find anything about this on the Council website (I'm sure there has but just interested in reading more about it). Personally, the new development at the site of the old park square and new road through looks nice and think the marina is something well over due. Did find it odd however, there was nothing with regards facilities for yachts but apparently that will come out in the consultation. Consultations again..........

[£3.73]

Which takes us neatly back to the questions raised by UV & Kintyre56 ......

UV made a very good point - there does not seem to be any detail or information regarding the costings of each part of the CHORD project - i.e. where is the £6.5m going? It would be good to know how much of it has been spent already on consultations and other expenses and what the breakdown of the remainder will be. Perhaps the Chair of the CHORD project could enlighten us?

[minsyb]

Did find it odd however, there was nothing with regards facilities for yachts but apparently that will come out in the consultation. Consultations again..........

I had a discussion with the Project Manager of the marina project about how the town will facilitate the yachts and extra visitors. I asked if he had any plans to ask local retailers and restaurants to extend their opening hours (eg. get rid of Wednesday pm closing) however he seemed to think that there were no issues with the selection of places in the town to cater for hungry visitors! I told him this was not the case and on a Sunday there is only one small central cafe open. The choice of places to eat during the rest of the week is also very poor and I think this needs to be addressed. I would to start to wonder whats the point in extending berths to 140+ if there is nowhere for these people to eat or shop......especially on a Sunday?

WCM have to extend their services also, I tried to take a bus to Machrihanish last Sunday and when I went online to check timtable I was horrified to learn that there isn't a service! Not everyone has a car and how else will tourists get around the local area.

PS Glad the evening was a success and that so many signatures were taken for the AWP!

[D.H]

In terms of consultation. The only consultation that I know of was when the Council was asking selected community / business groups to give evidence to show why money should be prioritised to Campbeltown.

The Kintyre Cultural Forum was asked to speak to a consultant who was very enthusiastic about the plans to build a cultural / arts centre and made it clear that this was a key project type to increase the chances of securing funds for the area as it made a case for a positive vortex of developments going upwards, rather than a downward spiral.

However, since the money was secured the Cultural / Arts sector appears to have been sidelined in the CHORD development which is very sad, especially as 1 in 8 people in Kintyre are actively involved in culture / arts. Was it not interesting to see no mention of the cultural / arts aspect of the regeneration at this event when so many people are involved in arts / culture, and tourists will require quality arts / cultural provision to encourage them to come?

[History]

sad, especially as 1 in 8 people in Kintyre are actively involved in culture / arts. Was it not interesting to see no mention of the cultural / arts aspect of the regeneration at this event when so many people are involved in arts / culture, and tourists will require quality arts / cultural provision to encourage them to come?

Really good point.

It's all very well regenerating the town, which is a good thing but as someone said Campbeltown is a great place when your children are growing up but there is no opportunity for adults to grow. Most of the activities such as Golf and Football are just lesiure pursuits and not exactly geared up to furthering any cultural leanings you may have.

On the subject of the AWP would there be opportunities to have track and field events on weekends. Another way of bringing visitors to the area.

[John S]

The Townscape Heritage Initiative (as part of the CHORD project) has funding to look at the regeneration of key buildings in Campbeltown and if there is an interest from Arts, Culture and Heritage organisations in using, the Town Hall for example as a performance centre then they would be pushing at an open door. But it is essential that people interested come forward, there needs to be community generated ideas for the use of these buildings. The reason that there was no representation of the THI at the open day is that there was a launch of the project in the Town Hall only a few weeks ago.

[D.H]

Unfortunately the Town Hall is not a suitable building to meet the needs of the groups that we surveyed.

[LO]

if there is an interest from Arts, Culture and Heritage organisations in using, the Town Hall for example as a performance centre then they would be pushing at an open door.

As previously noted, around 1 in 8 people are actively involved in arts and performing in the area. This is a phenomenal ratio by any standard but having seen the results of the Kintyre Cultural Forum's study and crunched some of the numbers I am satisfied that it is a pretty accurate picture.

There is no doubt that the facilities available locally are woefully inadequate for this type of participation and some kind of solution is necessary. My favoured solution would be a dedicated Arts Centre/Venue supplemented by a number of smaller rehearsal venues.

However, this is where we run into problems.

According to the KCF study, most organisations are unhappy with the quality of the venues they currently use which, to paraphrase, are not fit for purpose.

John S makes the point that organisations interested in the Town Hall would be knocking at an open door. That's fine in theory. However, I am struggling to see the Town Hall as a suitable performance centre - appalling acoustics, limited capacity etc.

What we have here is a classic miss-match - the Council needs to justify preserving our built heritage through the CHORD Project by putting the buildings to good use which is perfectly reasonable. On the other hand, a significant percentage of the area's population are looking for facilities that are more specialised than what is currently on offer via CHORD.

Unfortunately, this has become a vicious circle. Both sides are firmly but politely entrenched and unless an additional pot of money is sourced from somewhere it looks as if the artistic community (in its broadest sense) will be left out in the cold.

[John S]

well there is always more than one way to skin a cat, and I am happy as ever to discuss how we can meet the asperations of the cultural community, our abillity to do anything is only restricted by our abillity to work together. But the CHORD project is not a endless pot and if there is additional funding available, then I would expect the AWP will have the first opportunity to access it given the overwelming community support. It is likely that the THI could refurbish the town hall to meet the acustic needs of the artistic community, capacity is obviously an issue though.

[sooze]

It is not just acoustics and capacity in the Town Hall for cultural events there is access for public and for getting equipment in and out e.g. daytime to get in and 2.00am in the morning to take out and how do you get it up the stairs.

The Town Hall has not been rejected on a whim but by experts looking in detail as have many other buildings and spaces. The KCF has not just been coming up with ideas and made decisions without detailed investigation. A lot of work has gone into the need for a cultural centre and the pros and cons of what is needed and who for.

Sooze

[John S]

susan the whole point of the funding available is to bring it up to modern standards for DDA, Food Hygene, Fire Exit etc. this will also increase the capacity of the hall as it is fire reg that restrict it.

[mrn]

I couldn't attend last week but can someone confirm exactly what the proposals are? The report in the Courier didn't go into any depth about the proposed work.

[John S]

mrn see http://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/content/p ... mpbeltown/