Developers show huge interest in town car parks
Parking companies as well as hotel brands have declared a ‘huge interest’ in developing on three Oban car parks.
But town leaders are warning there must not be a loss of precious parking spaces in Oban at any cost.
Argyll and Bute Council’s special projects and estates teams are continuing to investigate the commercial potential of Albany Street, Tweeddale Street and the Esplanade car parks after a number of developers have come forward.
The car parks were marketed by the council last year, looking for interested parties to ‘explore commercial opportunities, while maintaining or improving parking provision within the town’.
As a result, there was ‘huge interest’ in the sites from a variety of car park developers and the commercial market, as well as local, national and international hotel brands, said the council.
As part of this process, a number of factors, including site investigations, will now be considered to help decide how feasible proposals are.
Progress will be reported back to councillors.
Chairwoman of the Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee Councillor Elaine Robertson said: ‘The interest in these sites highlights the considerable demand there is from developers in the Oban area.
‘We await more information on the proposals and how they may benefit the town and surrounding area.’
In a document seen by The Oban Times last year, the council said: ‘We wish to maximise the economic return from our land holding by redeveloping one or more of our car parks for a hotel, multi-storey car park or similarly related operation.
‘A key outcome shall be the creation of a long-term property investment for the council and partner with the protection or enhancement of current parking availability.
‘Long-term lease or profit share is favoured. It is not the council’s preferred option to sell off its land assets. The council shall contribute land and may also invest capital to the project as part of a profit share agreement.’
BID4Oban chief executive Andrew Spence said he was watching the situation with lots of interest.
‘It would be interesting to see what the proposals are. We welcome any development but we have to know what the alternatives are for parking. You can’t just take parking spaces away and build on it. We’re watching with lots of interest.’
Councillor Roddy McCuish, the council’s policy lead for roads and amenity services, said: ‘I’m very excited about the interest shown in the car parks but I have to emphasise this can’t mean any fewer parking spaces in Oban.
‘If anything I’d like to see more. It just goes to show the interest we have from businesses coming into this area. We are the fastest growing area in Argyll and Bute.’