I don't know how many of you saw the Scottish news where they mentioned the redevelopment of the Ardeer Peninsula. There was the usual mournful film about how the area used to thrive due to ICI and people had been leaving the town for years.
But wait!!!!!
There's going to be redevelopment, a load of new houses, maybe a power station (unsightly turbines of course) and a Golf Course (just what Ayrshire needs, yet ANOTHER golf course).
I'm sure if you asked the locals, especially in Stevenston, what they would prefer, new houses or the old ICI plant in it's former glory, the answer would be ICI. I remember seeing how many cars came out that place, and that it had its own train station, technically I think it had two, one at the main site and one nearer the explosives bunkers..
A former explosives site in North Ayrshire could be transformed into a business park and housing estate if a £500m development proposal goes ahead.
NPL Estates said its 15-year plan for the Ardeer Peninsula would create 1,000 jobs, benefiting the coastal towns of Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston.
Plans for the 1,700 acre area also include a golf course and a marina.
The proposal, for Scotland's largest brownfield regeneration site, has yet to be submitted for planning consent.
NPL Estates commissioned architecture and planning practice Keppie Design to develop the proposal.
Their recent projects include the Ravenscraig development in North Lanarkshire.
Simon Towers, managing director of NPL Estates, said the development would turn around the fortunes of the local community
He said: "This exciting plan is the culmination of over five years design and consultation work and will deliver unprecedented regeneration in an area which has experienced a decline in socio-economic conditions following the downturn of heavy industry.
"This plan will reverse those conditions and will deliver real benefits to the local community."
The area was formerly owned by Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize, and was the site of the world's largest explosive plant.
At its peak, during the 1950s and 1960s, about 15,000 people worked at the site.
'Few hurdles'
There are currently about 200 staff employed by companies in the area.
Jim Clements, a former local councillor in the area, said he hoped the regeneration plan would succeed where others had failed.
He said: "They have a few hurdles to get over yet, but hopefully in the next 15-year period it will come to fruition.
"But what it does mainly in my view is give people in my area hope that something is happening.
"That there is hope for the youngsters in the area, and that can only be good."
1000 jobs, that will probably be temporary, compared to the 10000 jobs that Ardeer once had. Also, with this forthcoming slump in the housing market it doesn't seem to be the wisest decision.
It may have had a grass roof, but it was a shame to see the weeds growing around The Big Idea - it was doomed from the day it was conceived.
Whatever they do, all I can say at the moment is that I hope there's someone in a position of influence to force some sort of remnant or museum forced into the development to preserves some of the Nobel Works, and some samples of the artefacts that still survive on the ground.
I don't know how close you live to the site Apollo, but most of the factory in Stevenston proper is long gone, there's a bit on the peninsula that's still used, but the site that used to have the nylon plant and the two huge chimneys is practically levelled. Does anyone know anything about the rumour that they once did tobacco or synthetic tobacco in there?
Anyway, the rows of bunkers are still intact, at least as far as I can tell, they're visible from the Ayr-Glasgow railway line. I imagine the site would need some major cleanup done. Frankly, I really don't think we need another golf course but that's maybe just me.
The artificial tobacco story rings a bell. The product was known as NSM short for New Smoking Material and made its debut in the early 70s as I recall. Millions were spent on developing it. It was a commercial failure. Tasted pretty awful and lacked that certain something that is in tobacco and which all smokers crave. It was indeed made in Ayrshire.
Yes, the place is indeed something of a desert - The Big Idea was still open the last time I was able to get down there, and fight my way through the hordes of visitors trying to... oops - wrong place
I was actually down at the Maritime Museum, and slipped over for a look, but with nothing inspiring on view through the big glass front, I wasn't motivated to pass through the door, especially as I didn't have a token child handy to justify my presence.
All I was really thinking about was the sad fact given Nobel's past importance, the Dynamite invention, the Peace Prize, and the rest of the history, it's surely a lost opportunity to have even a small museum and commemoration somewhere on the site where it all started. There's also the danger that if the development reclaims the area and land with no sympathy for the past, then the remains of the production sheds and their protection will be swept away and flattened - with some genius popping up in 10-15 years with the startling revelation that "Maybe someone should have thought about preserving a small, original corner of the site". At the same time, they'll be making an application for a grant of a few million £ to "Create an accurate reproduction to show visitors what the site used to be like".
I agree about that, the explosives bunkers that are still around, if that is what they are, I can't really see being ideal land and I shudder to think what the cost would be in doing some major scale industrial cleanup on the peninsula. I remember hearing one reason Nobel got the land was that basically no one else wanted it, basically because it wasn't exactly ideal land for housing.
Now of course, they'll build on a plot the size of a postage stamp nowadays.
Regarding the Maritime Museum, I remember asking one of the main head types in there if they were ever going to pursue any military history, even any small items and she basically said that as long as she was there 'the evil military wouldn't be featured'. Personally I think that sort of attitude stinks, its part of our history, just because this person wants to seem like a peacenik hippy doesn't mean you can deny events like the war.
Having scoured the country for a remote location to establish his explosive factory, Nobel finally acquired 100 acres (40 Ha) from the Earl of Eglinton, and established the British Dynamite Factory in 1871,
From an official history-type source yonks ago.
I've heard about the Maritime Museum curator before, and that attitude stinks to the extent that if I got it first hand, I'd be writing some letters and emails to get her out of the job. A museum's a museum, not a political statement, and in this case, since it is nationally funded (or at least was when I visited, cos I had a bought a National Museums season ticket for unlimited entry back in the days when there was an entrance charge), it has no place excluding any sort of exhibits based on the politics of the curator.
The place is almost built on the developments of the Clyde, which was one of the foremost warship builders of all time - British Fleet, Britannia Rule The Waves and all that - and there was a sizeable chunk of the display devoted to that in one corner as I recall.
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