NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL

16 April 2019

Cabinet

Title: The Great Harbour

Purpose: To advise the Cabinet of proposals to develop Irvine Harbourside and Ardeer “Great Harbour”.

Recommendation: The Cabinet approves: a) Progression of the masterplanning and technical feasibility work detailed in 2.14 and 2.15 b) Agreement to enter into a two year partnership with NPL to progress the masterplanning and technical feasibility work identified in 2.14 and 2.15.

1. Executive Summary

1.1 This report updates the Cabinet on proposals to develop Irvine Harbourside and Ardeer – The Great Harbour. The report provides details of the major regeneration being planned, status of those plans, and seeks agreement on the next steps needed to further progress this work

1.2 The Great Harbour is an Ayrshire Growth Deal proposal that has been under development since the early stages of the Growth deal. Following the recent signing of the Heads of Terms for the Growth Deal, there is a need to advance works supporting the detailed development of proposals. The Great Harbour is also the focus of work supporting Coastal Connections development of the active travel project linking pathways along the Ayrshire coast. Additional design and work is being progressed by Land Use Consultants in relation to the Maritime Mile wharfs and waterside areas enclosed by fencing, building on work already developed to consider the wider public realm environment and cycle/path connectivity to the Ardeer peninsula and beyond.

1.3 Proposals for Harbourside are centred on developing a major visitor destination which will create commercial and private sector opportunities for new investment and jobs. The Council has been working with the major landowner at Ardeer and Harbourside, NPL to encourage a long-term commitment to investment in the regeneration proposals that are being progressed.

1.4 It is proposed to enter into a 2-year partnership agreement with NPL to undertake the necessary project development work which would be funded on a 50/50 basis between NAC and NPL.

2. Background

2.1 Tourism is an important sector in the Ayrshire economy and it has the potential to be the driver for significant job creation. Following extensive discussions with industry, several key actions were identified to support the development of the tourism sector and one of the major areas of focus was to provide several targeted investments along the Ayrshire coast to enhance the tourism offer. These were at Irvine Harbourside/Ardeer Peninsula, , Arran and Millport. Projects have been developed and incorporated into the Ayrshire Growth Deal. Our tourism growth deal projects are underpinned by our innovative industry led approach to promote the hidden gems of the Ayrshire coast and its environs. This new concept - The Coig is set to be launched in 2019 and is gathering significant industry support and has attracted Scottish Government funding and negotiations to secure other public and private sector investment are underway.

2.2 The early work to establish the strategic priorities recognised the importance of considering the inter relationship between Irvine Harbourside and the Ardeer Peninsula and the potential for large scale regeneration and job creation with effective and focussed intervention and investment. This is one of ’s largest regeneration areas comprising over 1000 acres of brownfield land adjacent to Irvine Harbour which was once one of the most important ports in Scotland at one time serving as the port for . The Irvine estuary is the largest in Ayrshire and is one of the best examples of a bar-built estuary in the UK and the Ardeer Peninsula was once the home of Alfred Noble’s first factory to manufacture dynamite. In the mid and late 20th century, ICI located one of its global bases on the peninsula and in its heyday 13,000 people worked on the site. Today, US owned Chemring operates the UK’s largest non-defence explosive manufacturing site.

2.3 All this combines to present a major strategic asset and following initial assessment 3 main components were identified to realise its potential. • A major visitor destination – Ayrshire’s new waterfront located on Irvine Harbourside and the southern part of the Ardeer Peninsula including the Big Idea. • A coastal resort comprising new residential villages and a holiday resort. • An industrial hub for major industrial and engineering processes.

2.4 The overall approach to realising the transformational ambitions at Great Harbour is to have several distinct phases with an initial focus to create the waterfront destination which would support second stage of development through the rest of the Ardeer peninsula which critically requires a road bridge and other road infrastructure. There are several major inward investment inquiries to be located at the northern end of the Ardeer Peninsula and these continue to be progressed. The rest of this report focuses on taking forwards the development of the visitor destination. 2.5 Irvine Harbourside has huge potential given the combination of its natural estuary/Clyde location with some of the most superb coastal views in Scotland, proximity to Glasgow and the central belt, an already established maritime presence and space to expand. It is already a recognised visitor destination with c60k visitors enjoying the Scotland's National Maritime Museum and is home to nationally award-winning artisan food and drink producers and outlets. There is a thriving arts and craft scene with recognised artists with a local base in the WASP courtyard studios. 2.6 With the right mix of public and private investment, Irvine Harbourside should be a waterfront destination to not only attract a significant increase in the number of domestic visitors but also should have global appeal. With an imaginative solution, the southern stretch of the Ardeer peninsula can also be incorporated into this destination with the potential to revitalise the Big Idea - an iconic millennium funded building, but which has not been in use since early 2000’s.

2.7 To date, we have progressed early feasibility work through a ‘Destination Approach’ that recognises the importance of building a place of strong and distinctive appeal both for residents and visitors. The challenge is to create a sustainable visitor destination which will attract another 100,000 plus visitors a year that is sympathetic to the local environment, the existing community and business base whilst recognising the opportunity that exists.

2.8 Great Harbour is one of the projects that will benefit from Growth Deal funding. Indicative proposals which were identified as part of the development of the Ayrshire Growth Deal include: • The Maritime Mile: The proposals are to open the waterfront to include a complete redesign of the Puffer Café compound, working with the Maritime Museum to create a new visitor attraction, showcasing the vessels owned by the museum in a new waterfront setting. The Maritime Mile will run from the train station bridge to the wooden wharf next to the Irvine Watersports Club. It will provide new berthing facilities and upgrading of the existing slipways. The Maritime Mile will be developed alongside work supporting Coastal Connections. Additional design work is being advanced in relation to the Maritime Mile wharfs and waterside areas enclosed by fencing, building on work already developed to consider the wider public realm environment and cycle/path connectivity to the Ardeer peninsula and beyond. This work supports the Coastal Connections / Community Links submission to Sustrans with Coastal Connections funding anticipated for the Harbourside estimated at £3-4 M; • The Big Idea and Inventors Bridge: Working with NPL Estates and the Maritime Museum to explore a proposal that would include, a refit of the Big Idea, as a multi- use destination, providing events and creative space that will further add to the destination development appeal. Initial works being proposed will also repair the Inventors Bridge, providing dedicated access to the Big Idea; • Scotland’s Playground at the Skypark: An all-weather barrier free play facility that is unique to the west of Scotland and commercially feasible;

• Ayrshire is an already established award winning food, drink and hospitality destination with a wide range of well known, highly successful regional entrepreneurs ensuring a range of high-quality venues and produce. It is an ideal opportunity to elevate Harbourside as a major tourist destination and initial discussions with the private sector have indicated that there is the potential to develop a quality harbourside hotel and restaurant which would create a reason to ensure that visitors extend their visit the full length of the Maritime Mile; and • The location lends itself to high quality waterfront housing as a complementary addition to the planned social housing. 2.9 As part of the Head of Terms for the AGD, £14M has been earmarked for the Great Harbour which is now giving impetus to our work. In addition, funding from Scottish Government has been secured to assist in the next stage of developments and links have been made with the Coastal Connections work, with £3-4M of funding being progressed to a design stage. Work to date has been largely of a high-level conceptual nature and more evidence and investigation is required to make the detailed case for AGD investment. 2.10 Moreover to deliver a programme of this scale and complexity requires significant partnership working and stakeholder engagement and it will be important to develop a comprehensive programme to ensure that appropriate input from the community, wider stakeholders and potential funders. As part of considering how to best deliver the programme, discussions have been undertaken with NPL Estates, with a view to developing a partnership approach to project development. 2.11 NPL are key stakeholder partners for several reasons: -

• As owners of the Ardeer peninsula, access to which can be opened through the Great Harbour project; • As harbour authority and owner of the Bogside Flats Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI); • As a body with expertise and significant experience in dealing with decontamination; • They share a common vision in developing the Irvine side of the harbour as a tourism related destination of choice. Only if that is successful will there be enough commercial interest to unlock the potential of Ardeer.

2.12 A partnership agreement will set out the basis of the joint working between the two landowners (NPL and NAC) at Harbourside at these early stages of the project development including resources that each partner will provide so that there is full transparency. The masterplanning work will be funded through the Tourism revenue budget for 2019/20 and NPL will 50% match the proposed master planning work. Given the investment required to undertake the work outlined below NPL is seeking a 2-year period to work in partnership. Consideration will also be given as part of the work as to how best to deliver the individual projects. Next steps Commission masterplan/Business Case Development 2.13 A new masterplan will now be developed for the site and this will inform the detailed business case required to finalise the funding proposals and seek approval from the newly formed Regional Partnership Steering Group before the release of any Growth Deal funds can be approved. In addition, a project of this nature is very dependent on securing a wide range of other funding sources including the private sector and any business case/feasibility work will need to address the requirement from other funders. Critical to the success of the masterplan will be the deliverability and sustainability of the proposals. This will be reflected in the brief and development work that needs to be undertaken.

2.14 Phase 1 of the master planning works will consider the key factors required for the Great Harbour to become a successful destination. This will be a discrete ‘Proof of Concept’ which should consider best practice surrounding the Scottish Government ‘Place Standard’ and other relevant methodologies for place and destination development, whilst critically considering the unique selling points of the Great Harbour and the proposals under consideration. It will seek to confirm the approach to date and act as an evidence base for the further development of bespoke projects, including the AGD final business case and will include: - An overview of key markets, trends and recent developments in the visitor attractions sector in the UK and in Scotland; - An assessment of current proposals and an assessment of new ideas, within the context of delivering a transformational waterfront destination; - Several case studies of waterfront visitor attractions which are successful in delivering different aspects of the visitor attraction experience – interpretation / activity, catering, retail and events, drawing key lessons for future Great Harbour attractions; - Examples of innovative approaches which are transferrable to the Great Harbour environment and lessons learned (Helix/Dundee); - Critical success factors, including those that might apply to specifically urban/rural/waterfront attractions; - Consideration of how attractions are financially supported/commercially viable – specific to the Great Harbour and funding models that could be supported; - An understanding of the domestic and international tourism markets and how they can generate enough business for the Big Idea/Skypark proposals based on existing and future forecasts & trends; - Analysis of local tourism statistics and surveys that illustrate visitor behaviour within the region and their perceived willingness to travel to a new attraction; - The impact of seasonality in visitor numbers and their impact on the Big Idea and commercial corporate business model; - The potential impact of the Coig route proposals on the Great Harbour; and - An analysis of the event potential within the Great Harbour, liaising with local stakeholders.

2.15 Phase 2, will advance to more technical and detailed work on the individual components. Critically, it will be guided and informed by Phase 1, in terms of scale, ambition and focus. Phase 2 will consider vision, planning and financing requirements to further develop the unique proposals. It will also consider phasing and speed of delivery, as key to the realisation of the destination. 3. Proposals

3.1 The Cabinet approves: (a) Progression of the masterplanning and technical feasibility work detailed in 2.14 and 2.15 (b) Agreement to enter into a two year partnership with NPL to progress the masterplanning and technical feasibility work identified in 2.14 and 2.15.

4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty

Financial: The total budget requirement to support the work will be £100k. This will be funded through existing tourism budget to a maximum value of £50k and a matching contribution from NPL of £50k. Human Resources: None.

Legal: A partnership agreement will be advanced and agreed with NAC Legal Services and NPL. Equality/Socio-economic The Great Harbour proposals will support the regeneration Duty: of the Harbourside and Ardeer peninsula, supporting local businesses and creating new local employment and business opportunities. Children and Young The Great Harbour proposals will support the regeneration People: of the Harbourside, providing new jobs, access and to a wide range of opportunities that will be of benefit to children and young people. Environmental & Any proposals for development will be subject to best Sustainability: practice sustainability practices. Any development proposals for the Ardeer peninsula will be sensitive to the SSSI area, supporting education related tourism. Key Priorities: The Great Harbour will support the priority outcomes contained within the draft Council plan (2019-224), under Inspiring Place. The Great Harbour will be “An enterprising, vibrant and sustainable environment, appealing to investors, attractive for visitors and a place our residents are proud to live and work in”. The Great Harbour also supports the‘Making Waves’ action plan, developed by the Tourism Industry and the Great Harbour national tourism priorities identified in the Tourism Scotland 2020 strategy by helping to make Scotland a “first choice destination for a high quality, value for money and memorable customer experience delivered by skilled and passionate people”. Community Benefits: The Great Harbour supports community area regeneration priorities identified within the Irvine Vision, supporting increased visitor spend in the local economy, with an improved environment that supports local jobs and businesses.

5. Consultation

5.1 A full plan of consultation will be developed as part of the Masterplanning brief. This work will build on the consultation undertaken as part of the Ayrshire Growth Deal proposals and historical work undertaken in the development of the Irvine Vision.

Karen Yeomans Director, Economy and Communities

For further information please contact George Hunter, Senior Manager, on 01294324918.