Islanders annoyed as unwanted Morrison Court 'upgrades' drag on
Unwanted ’upgrades’ to Morrison Court in Bowmore, Islay, are practically completed, but many islanders are not happy with the outcome.
Works began in March to see the grass in Morrison Court torn up and replaced by blockwork, to the frustration of many islanders who never asked for such a change.
It was initially funded by an £80,000 grant from the Crown Estate, but that money has since run dry.
The Ileach has called the works "arguably unwanted and unnecessary changes" and "remarkably uninspiring".
The block work has been branded ugly by many islanders, as the chosen design does not match the adjacent slabs in colour, size or orientation.
Even the sub-contractors hired to do the work, Atc Groundworks, said on social media that they warned the council it would look "terrible".
For years, residents, the late Councillor Robin Currie, and Councillor Alastair Redman, had asked only for the empty flower beds in the square to be brought back into use.
Now the flower beds have been taken over by the Islay Development Initiative, as a replacement for the soon to close community garden at Kilarrow Community Hub.
The charity’s Thomasina Glover said: "We will be doing more work on the garden for community and visitor enjoyment all year round, although as you can appreciate, it is an exposed site, and as such, I am sure there will be an element of trial and error with regards to which plants choose to survive!"
"We are going to schedule a further meeting with the council to discuss the planting design on the upper area, additional seating and a more formal community adoption of the garden.
"We would like to see some additional elements in the space such as feature sculptures and we will put that out to a community vote."
Councillors Dougie McFadzean and Alastair Redman both expressed disappointment in the lack of community consultation on the project in their latest columns.
When speaking to The Oban Times, Councillor Redman said: "There was no reason given for why the grass was torn up, nor why these blocks were chosen.
"Now that the crown estate money has run out, the council tax payer is left footing the bill for something nobody asked for.
"Our residents deserve common sense and quality results, not just money for nothing."
Argyll and Bute Council was asked to explain the reasoning behind the project, and for the total cost, but failed to respond by our deadline.
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