An intensive and ambitious four-day period of consultation on Brechin’s future starts today.
The Brechin design charrette calls upon residents to have their say about how their town should look in the future.
Angus Council selected Brechin for what is a major project for several reasons. The community had been active in collectively developing a vision for their town and had built positively on the regeneration of the town centre following the townscape heritage initiative (THI).
The THI was a five-year, £2.9 million project funded by Angus Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Scotland. It enabled the restoration of a number of historic buildings in Brechin.
There has also been significant capital investment in Brechin, with the ongoing construction of the community campus, which results in some activities drifting from the town centre.
A design studio within the Damacre Centre, Damacre Road, is serving as HQ for the charrette this week. The public and interested parties, including employers and local business people, developers and builders, are all invited to get involved. They will be assisted by designers and other specialists.
At the end of the process, a long-term vision, framework and action plan for Brechin town centre will be established with the ideas that emerge from the charrette. They will be drafted into plans and drawings.
The charrette gives Brechin people and other interested parties a platform to voice their opinions, hopes and desires for their town.
Today’s events, at 4.30pm and 7.30pm, provide an opportunity to view an initial exhibition that features input from local pupils. It will also give people a chance to find out more about the various events in the process, help shape the agenda and take part in group discussions.
Other events are divided between the forum, the workshop and site visits, which are tailored towards those attending, be they the public, key stakeholders or other interested parties.
Throughout the charrette, those involved will be taking stock, addressing emerging themes and challenges and charting a way forward.
At the end, there will be an opportunity to hear a presentation on the work in progress and to ask questions about the overall process.
A final presentation of the Brechin town centre vision, framework and action plan proposals, will be given on Thursday February 19, along with an opportunity to agree the next steps.
Some of the proposals emerging from the charrette may be large scale and long term but others will be more easily delivered. Not all of the proposals will require large-scale investment.
Information about the charrette programme can be found on Angus Council’s website: www.angus.gov.uk.
Further information can also be obtained by contacting Sarah Kettles, communities manager for Brechin and Montrose, on 01356 627460, Kettless@angus.gov.uk or cldbrechin@angus.gov.uk
For updates and to follow discussion, go to Twitter @brechintalks using #brechintalks.