Thank you for all your feedback! Consultation on the initial ideas for the town centre masterplan and Alexandria 2030 vision closed on 20 June 2021.
Check out What's next to see what will happen next.

You can still see the consultation ideas for the Town Centre Masterplan and Alexandria 2030 vision but we will not necessarily be able to incorporate your feedback.

Alexandria town centre needs to improve to fulfil its role as the heart of the Vale.

cartoon heart cartoon heart

To make this a reality, the Council is preparing a masterplan for the town centre. This will be used to guide our activities over the next 15 years and secure resources to make things happen. That’s why we want you to tell us now if we’re on the right track.

The masterplan will comprise a number of projects in the town centre. You can see what we’re thinking in the plan below.

Click on each suggested project to see more information and a couple of questions. Your answers will help to guide us in the right direction.

No single project will turn the town centre around, but taken together we believe that they will help make the town centre more active, more attractive and more accessible.

Main Street

Wider and better pavements, easier to cross the road, stopping illegal parking, better lighting, canopy repairs, more greenery, seating and car park signage and links... these are the ideas proposed along Main Street between the Smollett Fountain and the CE Centre. 

The aim is to make Main Street more attractive for people to spend time in, supporting businesses and community life. 

There will be more consultation as detailed proposals are worked up. 

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Smollett Fountain

The Council has already committed funding for restoration of the Smollett Fountain, including improving the setting and road junction to improve pedestrian safety and traffic management.  Design work is well advanced and work should start this year.  

Temporary changes are currently being trialled on site, including changes to the traffic lights. Any comments you have on those temporary changes will help to inform permanent improvements.

Smollet Fountain

To celebrate the importance of this listed structure, which sits on the junction of Bank Street and Main Street and represents the ‘heart’ of Alexandria, the Council has committed funding for the restoration of the fountain and general upgrading of its surroundings. The aims are also to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety whilst also allowing traffic to move through the junction in a courteous and slower manner by altering traffic management priorities.

Work will be undertaken in three phases. The first phase has already started on site in Spring 2021. This phase of work is a temporary trial funded by Sustrans. The changes to pedestrian crossings and the management of traffic will be monitored and observations used to refine the second phase of work due to start in Summer 2021: permanent changes to the road and pavement layout.

The third and final phase will be refurbishment works to the fountain itself, which was last restored in 1996. The proposals include a creative lighting using a ‘Fountain of Light’ concept. We know that people are also keen to see reinstatement of the disconnected water supply to the gravity fed fountain. Unfortunately we will not know whether this is possible until investigative work is completed as part of the current trial works.

  • Fountain of Light with annotaions
  • Fountain of Light in amber colour
  • Fountain of Light in blue colour
  • Fountain of Light in maroon colour
  • Fountain of Light in red colour
smollet fountain plans

Before/ After

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Before/ After

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Property Improvements

Many town centre properties are in poor condition. We want to explore what can be done to improve them and make them more attractive for new uses. 

This will require working with building owners and finding funding for things like building repairs, painting,  shopfront improvements, re-use of upper floors and so on.

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Mitchell Way

Demolition of the vacant buildings on the south side of Mitchell Way, improved public spaces and construction of a new supermarket (Lidl are currently interested).  The plan below show how Mitchell Way could be redeveloped with a new supermarket, public space and commercial/residential development.

mitchell way plan

New Homes

This would be a big transformational project covering a large area between Mitchell Way, Bank Street and Bridge Street, on either side of the railway station. 

It would include:
  • 100-200 new good-quality affordable homes.  
  • Supporting facilities like green space, play areas and so on.
  • Removal of the big roundabout around the railway station and reinstate old direct routes of Bank Street and Chapel Street.
  • Improvements to the railway station.

The aim is to achieve:
  • More people living in the town centre - and therefore more footfall for businesses.
  • More good quality homes for local residents.
  • Make it easier to walk and cycle between Bonhill Bridge and the town centre, by removing the roundabout around the station.

The work would be carried out in stages and would take 5-10 years.  The first step would be to undertake a feasibility study to work out potential types of homes, site plans, supporting facilities and infrastructure, costs, sources of funding and phasing.  

Good design quality for new homes, streets and green spaces would be a priority.

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Alexandria Library

We want to encourage more life and activity in the town centre, by investing in community buildings and spaces so that there is more indoor and outdoor space for events and activities in the town centre.  The increased footfall would also help town centre businesses.

For Alexandria Library, funding has already been secured to install a lift and refurbish the upstairs space for community use (for example, a youth theatre) and new space for exhibitions about the Vale's heritage - including Turkey Red, Argyll Motor Works and Renton FC winning the world championship. 

Future work could include opening up the Library garden as a community space, heritage trails, projects with local schools, and events space and better lighting in front of the Library.

Before/ After

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library plan

Viresco Studios

Viresco Studios is transforming the former St Andrews Church on Main Street, opposite the CE Centre, into new arts and creative activities and studios.  The Studios will provide cultural and art opportunities to people who would not normally access them, increasing pride in Alexandria and its connections to a larger audience through Scotland and beyond as it attracts and welcomes visitors.

The project recently received major Scottish Government funding and is now in progress.

Find out more on the Viresco Studios website.

former St Andrew Church courtesy Google Streetview

CE Centre

We want to encourage more outdoor events and activities in the town centre in existing event spaces like Christie Park and the CE Centre car park.  This would increase community activity, bring more people into the town centre, and help town centre businesses.

The car park between the CE Centre and Overton Street could be improved to make it easier to organise more events, as shown in the visualisation below.


Before/ After

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Green Heritage Corridors

More trees, greenery and flowers in the town centre including along Main Street, to Christie Park, and down to the Barry the Cat mural on the river. 

As well as brightening up the streets, improving walking and cycling and bringing in more nature, these ‘Green Heritage Corridors’ would create lots of opportunities for local residents, schools and community groups to be involved in artwork, better play facilities, growing food, tree planting and nature trails.

Some of this greening could be temporary until gap sites are developed. The visualisation below shows one possible example of how these temporary greening could look on a currently vacant site on Bank Street, subject to funding and necessary agreements.

green corridors plan

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Cycling and Walking Network

A network of safe walking and cycle routes making it easier to get to the town centre from different parts of the Vale, so folk can safely walk and cycle to school, to the town centre or to meet friends.  

The network can become a focus to encourage people to get outdoors and be active, including organising community events like walking groups and cycling festivals.

The network should link with the National Cycle Network along the river, and encourage visitors walking and cycling between Dumbarton and Loch Lomond to come into the town centre and see what it has to offer.

plan

Christie Park

Christie Park is a wonderful asset for the town in so many ways: a beautiful historic green space in the heart of the town, and a place for everything from big community events to simply enjoying some peace and quiet.  

Ideas for improvements to the Park include:

  • Path link to the hospital.
  • Reopening the toilets.
  • Renovation of the War Memorial.
  • More community activities like family fun, heritage and nature walks, and arts events. 
  • Anchor for the Green Heritage Corridors.

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by Eddie Mackinnon is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
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by Son of Groucho is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Lomond Galleries

The former Argyll Motor Works is a wonderful building with some great businesses inside.  But how can we make more of its untapped potential?  

Since the building and forecourt are privately owned, all we can do at this stage is to put forward ideas.  For example:

  • More events in the forecourt? For example, historic car shows harking back to its heyday as the Argyll Motor Works, outdoor heritage exhibitions for locals and tourists, or showcasing local businesses with events or popups.
  • New landscaping, recreational space, lightshows and art installations in front of the building and in the empty facade towards Heather Avenue? 
  • A new modern extension at the Heather Avenue end of the building for more business space, arts studios or apartments?

The plan and visualisations below offer some ideas of how the Galleries could be enhanced in the future.  Please note that these ideas do not necessarily represent the views of the owner.

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Before/ After

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Visit 2030 Vision page