The regeneration of Kilwinning Main Street has been awarded a Commendation in the ‘Public Realm/Landscaping’ category of the Scottish Design Awards 2011.

The Irvine Bay Regeneration Company public realm project was officially opened in October 2010, at a cost of almost £3 million.

The successful delivery of the project has enhanced the identity and image of the historic abbey town centre as a commercial and community destination for residents, visitors and businesses. As well as providing a new town square, the physical environment has been significantly enhanced with new paving, seating, lighting, hard and soft landscaping, public art, upgraded CCTV systems, disabled access and the relocation of a significant memorial to create a focal point for the town.

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James Ledgerwood, project manager at Irvine Bay, said: "We are delighted that all of the effort that went into the transformation of Kilwinning Main Street has been recognised in this way as being an excellent project that delivered high standards of design and workmanship. We are already seeing real economic benefits flow from the work, with new businesses opening, events such as the Farmers’ Market attracted, and young people who trained on the project moving into work.

"We look forward to building on the successes of Kilwinning Main Street when we work to tackle an even bigger public realm project at Bridgegate in Irvine."

Project director and landscape architect at Austin-Smith:Lord, Siobhan Vernon, explains: "Kilwinning Main Street public realm improvements was a great project for us to work on. We tried to reclaim the public space within the street which, although already designated as a pedestrian space, lacked a focal gathering space and an area which was completely vehicle free. This culminated in creating an area which acts as a little ‘town square’ which has already hosted a number of successful markets. The remainder of the scheme was the creation of a simple, welcoming space celebrating the compact nature of the street pattern and one of the highlights of the town - Kilwinning Abbey."

(GK/KMcA)