I was in Dumbarton yesterday, enjoying a welcome break from the muggy weather at ground level by having a bracing climb up Dumbarton Rock (and putting my Historic Scotland membership to good use too, since I got in free).
I was trying to figure out when I’d last been there, guessing about 8 – 10 years ago.
Once I got home, a bit of ferreting around on the old computer – never thow anything away! – came up trumps, with what must have been pictures take with one of my very first digital cameras (maximum resolution 1024×768!), back in late 2002.
I thought it might be interesting to compare one of the views in particular, of the old distillery site… still pretty much intact in 2002, now a barren wasteland, apart from the one remaining tall still building, looking very sorry for itself.
2002
2011
There’s some interesting reading on this page about the design framework for the site, and the interesting arguments for and against retaining these important industrial heritage buildings in any redevelopment…
It is probably a somewhat unusual position for urban designers to find themselves in, having persuaded a developer to retain unlisted but important buildings, to then have the council wish them to be demolished.
Unfortunately, this is undated, so I’m not sure how recent it is. Does anyone know the current state of play regarding the site ?
Oddly, I can’t find details of the above building on the Buildings At Risk register, but when searching for it, I did find this, the lovely 30s Mountblow Sports Pavilion, which we’d spotted from the train, now sadly derelict.
Buildings At Risk details here
A full gallery of pictures from the Dumbarton trip can be found on Flickr here.
Gordon's Miscellanea 
As far as I know the harbour plans have been on hold for a good many years, I think the demolition was the last thing that was possibly paid for. Been hanging around since about 2006ish IIRC. Always wanted to have a good look at the Mountblow sports pavillion spotted on many a train journey.