The new administration of Argyll and Bute Council has taken the decision to suspend the redesign of Helensburgh’s Colquhoun Square until council officers respond to the instruction to come up with two alternatives to the current ‘hard desert’ proposal for what was designed as a gracious town square.
The proposed plans and our analysis of them are here in an earlier article we published on 23rd April.
All three options will be put to an informal referendum and informal consultation before the Council proceeds with the contract procurement process.
This move is to be celebrated by anyone who cares for Helensburgh and for its future.
The proposed redesign was architecturally ignorant, brutalist and unsympathetic. It was being railroaded through regardless of public disquiet and opposition. This pause for the development of alternatives and for informed reflection has the capacity t0 be a literal face saver for Helensburgh.
A date has been set from the outset for the taking of the final decision on this, following the results of the informal referendum.
Councillor James Robb, whose motion to council – given below – led to the suspension, says:
‘It was a commitment of the SNP Council Group that if we led the new Council Administration there would be a review of the design of Colquhoun Square within the Helensburgh Public Realm Improvement (PRI) Project under the CHORD Programme. A promise made and a promise kept.
‘The process has now been suspended to offer the residents of Helensburgh and Lomond a genuine choice on the design of Colquhoun Square. Informed by the results of an informal referendum the Council will take the final decision on the way forward on the 28th June.
‘I believe we should embrace this final opportunity to resolve significant differences of opinion and secure greater support and consensus for this investment in our town. ‘
Text of Motion to Co0uncil
Whilst the Public Realm Improvement (PRI) Project in Helensburgh under the CHORD Programme is generally welcomed there has been considerable disquiet, concern and protest regarding the design of Colquhoun Square. There is evidence of a public desire to remove the road bend, to increase the proportion of green space and to re-locate the bus stops. To achieve better community support for the Project as a whole the Council agrees to suspend the tender process and not issue any Intent to Award until this matter is brought back to the Council at a later date for a decision.
Council officers are instructed to bring forward to an informal referendum and informal consultation at least three alternatives: the current proposed design and at least two other alternatives incorporating the three issues above. The final design will take cognisance of the opinions expressed through the informal referendum and consultation which shall take place at a central location in Helensburgh on a date that allows the outcome to be reported to the Council meeting on 28th June 2012 to inform any decisions at that time.
The detail procedures for the informal referendum are delegated to the Director of Customer Services in consultation with the Chair and Depute Chair of the Helensburgh PRI Project Board. The arrangements with regard to providing the alternative design options and any measures which should reasonably and prudently be taken to minimise delays should an alternative become the preferred option are delegated to the Director of Development and Infrastructure Services in consultation with the Chair and Depute Chair of the Helensburgh PRI Project Board.
Proposed by Councillor James Robb
Seconded by Councillor Richard Trail
Responses
Councillor Ellen Morton is quoted in today’s (24th May) Helensburgh Advertiser as saying: ‘I don’t know what an informal referendum and informal consultation is. It’s just another delay and I don’t know what it is going to achieve. It is going to put the money at risk and there is no guarantee of resolution at the end of the delay.’
Councillor Robb is quoted as saying: ‘Council officers gave a very clear explanation of why “informal” was necessary; to avoid the delay and expense of a statutory referendum.
‘The Council Leader gave a complete assurance on behalf of the Administration during the debate, which was also confirmed by officers, that this decision would not affect the allocated funding.
‘Whilst raising concerns is helpful input into enacting the Council decision, raising completely erroneous concerns is not.
‘I think all our local councillors should accept the Council decision and move forward together to progress this project and the town’s aspirations as quickly and efficiently as possible.’
For Argyll imagines – hopes, perhaps - that the notion of an informal referendum and an informal consultation are designed to establish a form of community impact on decision taking that will be distinct from the almost wholly discredited formal consultations that have been a cynical blight on our political life.
