AN architect behind the project to renovate Helensburgh’s skating pond has warned that “doing nothing is not really an option”.
Addressing councillors and community figures, Jon Simmons warned that some form of work will be needed to restore the pond to its former state.
Timber furniture at the site is rotting, with weeds growing over much of the pond. Work remains ongoing on how the renovations can move forward.
The discussion took place at a meeting of Argyll and Bute Council’s Helensburgh and Lomond Community Planning Group on Tuesday, August 19.
Mr Simmons said: “A lot of the timber furniture is rotting and the whole place is covered with weeds. There is very little pond left, so it is a challenging project.
“We have a team of experts working on this and it is ecologically driven. We have six different experts writing reports and a consultation which has had a fantastic response.
“We have been out to local schools and have done an overall condition report, logging everything that is there at the moment.
“We have had 140 pupils involved in the project and had 415 responses to our questionnaire. An average of 75 people use the pond every day, most arriving in the afternoon by car.
“There is a push to do model boating back on the pond again. This is where we have to juggle what the ecologists say with what the recreational advantages might be.
“At the moment, the council budget for maintaining the site is around £4,000 per year. The key access is through the car park, and one reason people do not go on foot is because they have to try to cross the main road.”
Mr Simmons added: “We have three options – do nothing, which I hesitate to call an option, to leave some plants in the water, or do a full clearance. These are being put through an evaluation matrix.
“Doing nothing is not really an option, because the whole place will become willow and the pond will disappear. It will become overgrown, dark and dingy and will reduce biodiversity on the site if we do nothing.”
Gill Simpson, who was elected as the planning group’s new chair at the meeting, asked what members can do to help the project.
Mr Simmons responded: “The options will go to the council to be priced and a decision will be made on which goes forward. A submission has to be made next week for the December committee.
“We have produced material which will go out to people, and hopefully it demonstrates what they have said in the consultation responses and how they are reflected in what we want to do.
“At £75,000 it is about managing expectation, and it will not happen over one year, it will be over several years.”
