IS THIS THE WAY FORWARD?
Dyson Cleans Up • Published 31 Mar 2010 14:03
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QUESTIONED: A businessman at Irvine Bay's public meeting last week.
ON the face of it the regeneration of Irvine and Kilwinning - not to mention the Three Towns - looks to be going ahead at near enough full steam.
But let's get it out of the way from the off.
Had there been no Irvine Bay URC then it is unlikely that there would have been much in the way of the investment seen over the past couple of years.
Of that I have very little doubt.
However, just because this can be taken as a positive, it doesn't mean that you can't look at what is being proposed and imagine how it could be improved.
I was speaking to a few folk at last week's public meeting, and while everyone put their hands up and admitted that Irvine Bay were doing well with their plans they did question whether all of these ideas were suited to meeting the needs of everyone in the area.
The question was, they said, will the ordinary people in Irvine and Kilwinning really benefit?
I have been asking myself this since first talking to the URC. One of Irvine Bay's staff, who no longer works there, spoke to me about their plans right at the beginning. I asked what would the people of Bourtreehill see from all of this.
I got a bit of a blank look.
Alas, I think that the trickle down effect is the main way in which the people of Irvine and Kilwinning will benefit - adding the town centre improvements and job opportunities.
Some complain that a new golf course, marina at Ardrossan and a belief that plans are merely being put in place for commuters to stay in but not really LIVE in the area, are not what we need. However, Irvine Bay have insisted that they are wanting people to work, live and play in the towns.
Me? I have my own ideas, but I have no expertise in regeneration and Irvine Bay is obviously a small grouping concentrating on things that can have an immediate impact. Everyone will have their own opinions, however, very few of us are paid to make them count.
Yes, I would have it where people in outlying parts of the towns could feel like they were being taken into account.
However, I am certainly not one of those who turns their nose up at anything this investment can do for the towns.
This blog appeared in Irvine Times 31 Mar 10
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