Public urged to view town masterplan
A PUBLIC exhibition will be held this Friday ( July 2) to discuss a masterplan for Banchory.
The alternative blueprint for how Banchory could develop in the future has already been unveiled to members of the town's forum and now residents will have a chance to comment on the plans at the town hall this Friday between 1pm and 9pm.
Final year students from the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment devised a series of suggestions and plans for the re-development of Banchory Town Centre.
The details of a number of the proposals have already been made available to the public, including the reinstatement of the Royal Deeside, Aberdeen to Ballater railway line and the creation of a cycle path. Following from this, a series of designs will be unveiled for the first time at Friday's public presentation.
The student project was chosen by course leaders at the university following an invitation from members of the Banchory and District Initiative (BDI) last year.
Iain Fletcher, B.D.I. Director and Banchory Masterplan Project Manager, said: "The whole point of getting the involvement of Robert Gordon University and the final year students together with their experienced professors and associated experts was to provide fresh ideas, original thinking and expertise.
"It is hoped that with the cooperation of the planning authorities and with a very large input from the local population, residents of Banchory can arrive at an agreed plan showing what the town could be like in say 30 to 40 years' time and influence on the outcome. Once a final masterplan has been agreed, even if many of the projects are only aspirational at this stage, then everyone concerned can work towards that objective."
Banchory Community Council chair Margaret Thom encouraged the town's residents to come along to the view the plans for themselves.
She said: "There has been quite a lot of interest in this project so hopefully we will get a good turnout on Friday. I know some of the things that the RGU students have suggested would probably not be accepted by the whole community but some of their ideas are very fresh and well worth considering.
"It will be interesting to find out what people think about their ideas and, in my opinion, anything that gets people talking about how the town may develop in the future can only be a good thing. We are very lucky that the students have offered to carry out this project for the town and they have done a very professional job."
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Weather for Banchory
Tuesday 07 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -1 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 2 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South
