Potential redevelopment options for Hermitage Park in Argyll and Bute are to go on public display later this month.

Three different options will be on display and the event will provide the local community with an opportunity to view and comment on the designs, helping to formulate a 'list of wants' for the final design of the park.

The design team will take into account the public's opinions on the different options, and will consider elements such as achievability, affordability, popularity and sustainability.

Last month, the council received confirmation from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) that their bid for a funding of up to £2,087,000 to redevelop the park had received first-round approval. Following this consultation, the design team will then work towards one single park plan, with the aim of submitting the necessary documents to the HLF in August 2015. The community group, Friends of Hermitage Park, also pledged to raise an additional £20,000 towards the initiative.

The consultation events will be held on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 February at the Victoria Halls in Helensburgh. On Friday, the event will run from 10am until 12 noon, and again from 6pm to 8pm. A marquee will also be erected in Colquhoun Square between 12 noon and 2pm. On Saturday, the plans will be on display from 10am until 4pm at Victoria Halls.


The options are:

• Option 1 – Heritage.

This would involve a low-key approach to improvements, with a refurbished pavilion containing the relocated children's play area, crazy golf course, and small all-weather bowling area. A small multi-use games area and events space would also be created. Landscaping works would be carried out, with the remains of Millig Mill being preserved and retained; while railings and walls around the walled garden would be made safe and the pool restored. A new community garden would be developed in the space vacated by the play area.

• Option 2 – Formal.

The gardens would follow a strict geometry pattern, creating a number of avenues and vistas, with the formal gardens to the front of the walled garden being redesigned. This could result in a raised walkway and viewpoint. Elsewhere, the pavilion would be replaced by a smaller purpose-built unit containing a meeting space, café and toilets. The informal nature of the Millig Burn would again be retained, with the woodland being developed as ornamental woodland gardens and an area of natural play.

• Option 3 – Water.

This option focuses on water within the park. For example, the spring would be shaped to form water gardens, that would lead to a multi-purpose events space that also has fountains. The reflecting pool, next to the war memorial, would be refurbished to create a sculptural film of water as a mirror. In addition, the Millig Burn would be repaired and cleared to provide easy access, with the well restored and the formal gardens redesigned. It is understood age-graded play areas will be located around the pavilion, with a new crazy golf course, and the adjacent multi-use games area at Parklands School would be linked to the park via a redesigned access.

Councillor Ellen Morton, Argyll and Bute Council's Depute Leader, said: "I would encourage people to come along to these events and comment on the three proposals; we are eager to hear your views and use them to shape the plans for the park and its future use.

"As well as this public event, the council will be working with key stakeholders such as local community groups and schools throughout February and March to get their views on the plans.

"We want to give people the redeveloped park that they want."

(JP/MH)