Introduction to Our Site: Irvine

The site which we have been allocated by SGN is located on Shewalton Road, Irvine. This area of Irvine is quite industrial, and our site is located on the bank of the River Irvine which presents some great opportunities for our proposal. The site itself is just over 4000sqm and is part of a larger site owned by SGN. The area to the left of our site is an operational compound which cannot be altered or accessed by the public.

The site is currently described as overgrown woodland within a rural area. On the opposite side of Shewalton Road is a GSK plant which will be one of the primary locations for vehicles on this road. Further west of the site on Shewalton Road, there are several industrial complexes and warehouses. The site is roughly 2 miles from Irvine town centre and is also close to the Shewalton Sandpits Wildlife Reserve.

Our initial research has identified that the River Irvine is Ayrshire’s second longest river and is popular for fishing. There is also a public footpath which is on the opposite side of the river from our site.

The river has no sewage treatment as this takes place at the coast, however the river will suffer from diffuse pollution from the neighbouring agricultural land use. As shown in the diagram below, the surrounding land use has evolved to include a larger number of urban areas since the 1930s. Much of the land surrounding the site now is either used for crop growth or is classed as an urban area. Our site is currently classed as agriculturally unproductive as it is not considered arable land.

Map and content taken from National Library of Scotland Land Use Viewer website (Available from: https://maps.nls.uk/projects/landuse/#zoom=14&lat=55.5969&lon=-4.6193)

We believe that this site allows many opportunities to benefit the local community and bring more life to an otherwise industrial area. We particularly want to look into how the river could be utilised in our proposal and have been discussing proposals which could create more jobs and/or a greater sense of community.

Sources:

National Library of Scotland (2015) Scotland- Land Use Viewer. National Library pf Scotland, Online. Available from: https://maps.nls.uk/projects/landuse/#zoom=14&lat=55.5969&lon=-4.6193 [Accessed Jan 2021]

Ayrshire Rivers Trust (n.d) River Irvine. Ayrshire Rivers Trust, Online. Available from: http://www.ayrshireriverstrust.org/river-irvine/ [Accessed Jan 2021]