Despite the snow, around 400 went along to Banchory Town Hall on Friday (November 21), to have their say on how the Royal Deeside town should look in the future.

The public event was part of a series of consultations, entitled Making it Real - Banchory in the 21st Century organised jointly by Banchory Community Council (BCC) and Banchory & District Initiative (BDI).

The hall was filled with presentations from BDI, BCC, the Prince's Foundation, Aberdeenshire Council, Bancon, Tesco and others on what Banchory's future might look like. More than 1,500 comments were made by members of the public on a wide range of issues affecting the town.

BDI chairwoman Sue Edwards said: "We are very pleased with the number of people who took some time to examine the issues and the energy with which they expressed their opinions.

"Many people appeared to be opposed to the proposed 'park and ride' at the east end of Banchory. The site of the proposed Tesco also appears to be very unpopular, as many think it will spoil the eastern entrance to the town.

"Housing attracted a very large number of comments, with the need for affordable housing emerging as a priority while 'no more housing until facilities have caught up' was a very common theme."

Jean Henretty, BCC vice-chairwoman, said: "We were delighted to see such a high number of people coming out on what was a snowy day, but there is a concern that some parts of the community, who could be affected by some of the proposed developments, did not turn out.

"For instance, some developers are proposing a northerly bypass and further edge-of- town retail developments. This could affect the High Street but very few, if any, local traders came to the meeting.

"There are some people who think this consultation will not matter and future development in Banchory is a done deal, but this is not true. The planners want to hear from residents.

"The Making it Real series of events has been organised to let people have their say and to feed in to the development of the local plan next year. The fact is that if people want to enhance the town centre or have new affordable homes for their children in 10 years time, they must let the planners know before April 2009, when the council will start to develop the draft local plan.

"Once this is finalised and approved in late 2009, future development plans for Banchory will be set and it will be difficult to change course until the next local plan is drafted in 2023.

"It is very important for people to realise that this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to influence the future of Banchory. If you don't have your say now, the planners and developers will do what they think is best."

The community's views are now being collated by BCC and BDI and a report and draft community action plan will be developed. The report and action plan will be published on the Banchory community website (www.banchory.org) and discussed in a town forum (an idea strongly supported by the community) to be chaired by the community council in the new year.

Comments on Banchory traffic issues and the proposed 'park and ride' have already been forwarded to Aberdeenshire Council for review at an internal meeting, due to have taken place on Monday (November 24).

Further attempts will be made by BCC and BDI to reach the sections of the community that did not attend the event, as they believe it important to develop as wide a view as possible on matters that will affect the development of the local plan.

BDI director Tony Brown added: "Public opinions and suggestions can influence the machine of government, although it may appear a slow process.

"Aberdeenshire Council is actively seeking our views and Banchory has a much better chance of developing in the way that the community wishes, if people speak out."

The organisers thanked the participating organisations for taking time to set out their ideas for the town and inviting townspeople to express their views.