A fresh public/private partnership approach is being launched in an effort to breathe new life into Arbroath’s West Links.
In years gone by a magnet for countless thousands of west coast holidaymakers who made the Angus burgh their annual summer destination, the area has been more recently criticised for slipping into decline and holding less appeal for visitors.
Now moves are afoot to put the seafront stretch back on track as a top family attraction with local businesses including the operators of Scotland’s oldest miniature railway climbing aboard the scheme.
In a new approach for Angus Council, elected members have given officers the green light to pen the tie-up between the authority and the private interests of Kerr’s Miniature Railway and the operators of the West Links cafe to improve the area and hopefully boost visitor numbers.
Arbroath councillor Jim Millar said, “This can only have a spin-off benefit to both the businesses and the community as a whole.
“West Links contains a number of businesses which have done a lot to improve the visitor experience and this will only further enhance that.
“This is not just about leisure, it is about economic development. There’s a huge market out there with towns up and down the east coast competing for that business.
“For the first time it will bring a public/ private partnership for leisure in Angus and I look forward to it.”
Fellow Arbroath member Peter Nield said, “This partnership will bring forward the aspirations for the West Links and I can only praise the local businesses that have been willing and enthusiastic about making this partnership work.”
Neighbourhood services director Ron Ashton said, “The purpose of entering into such a partnership agreement is to improve services and the amenity of the area to offer visitors and the local community a quality integrated leisure experience.
“To achieve this, the council and the private sector operators/businesses need to act together to develop the economic, social and environmental potential of West Links.”
The miniature railway is already having a bumper season and its young figurehead said the attraction was enthusiastic about the potential developments the new partnership may bring.
Teenager John Kerr was just 10 when his father, Matt died in 2006, having been known to generations of West Links visitors as Mr Miniature Railway.
The hard-working youngster is balancing exams with running the railway but is hopeful the partnership will allow the attraction to realise the ambition of extending the line closer to the town to provide a return journey for passengers of around a mile.
He said a sunny April has made a huge difference to the railway, with numbers about 1000 up on the year. The railway operates at weekends until July, then daily until mid-August.