Editor – To paraphrase a current and much repeated advert on BBC television:
What has Bute BID ever done for me?
I know Bute BID was responsible for the Christmas lights and much of the planting of flowers in the Victoria Street gardens.
I know Bute BID was responsible for the new and much-used children’s play park near the pier and also for the games marked out on the prom near Kiddies Corner.
I know Bute BID was responsible for the VisitBute website and for the Meeters and Greeters who cheerily handed out maps and information to cruise boat passengers arriving at the pontoons in the harbour.
I know Bute BID was responsible for acquiring and putting out the tables and chairs in Guilford Square and the Montague Street garden which are so popular with locals and visitors in summer – but what has Bute BID ever done for me?
Alas, not everything done in a community is done for personal gain but is done for the common weal. With Argyll and Bute Council unwilling or unable to do very much to improve the appearance of the town centre and surrounding areas, it has been left to organisations such as the Bute BID to try and improve how the town looks and provide the extra facilities thought necessary to make Rothesay and other areas in Bute a more attractive and welcoming place.
What BID was doing costs money and one source of this was to contact local shops and businesses who would, in fact, benefit from an increase in footfall when more visitors were attracted to the island.
I am very disappointed that the BID group on Bute has been voted down and nearly every one of those I have spoken to in the past week feels the same.
The town of Rothesay and elsewhere on Bute will miss the efforts of the local BID organisers. Perhaps the BID did not get off to the best of starts but the most recent team was making a difference and deserved a longer chance to show what could be done.
With the long-awaited makeover of the Pavilion nearing completion, with the Winter Gardens under new management which is making a big impact and with the Trinity Church to be converted into an Adventure Space, there is a lot to be positive about with the future of Rothesay and Bute, but I feel the loss of the Bute BID group is a negative step and there will be much which they did that we will miss in the future.
Thank you for all that the recent Bute BID team did for Rothesay and Bute.
