Convalescent Coast
CHARTS is delighted to be working with POP Shop Enterprises CIC as part of Convalescent Coast, an 18-month community heritage project running from June 2026 to October 2027. Convalescent Coast will explore Dunoon's Victorian history as a place of health, temperance and soft drinks production. The project is part of Dunoon Goes POP and an ongoing research project to develop a heritage-inspired soft drinks brand for the town.
At the start of October, the CHARTS team visited Dunoon to co-host a workshop for local heritage practitioners with Dunoon Community Development Trust and the POP shop team. Held on Dunoon Pier, a fitting location for conversations about the town's past and future, the workshop brought together a range of organisations and individuals working across heritage, culture, education and the community.
Together, we explored how Dunoon's rich and sometimes fragmented heritage could be better connected, shared and activated to support the regeneration of the town and surrounding area. This work is informed by the findings of the Dunoon and Kirn Local Place Plan and will feed into the new Community Action Plan for the town that the Trust are currently developing.
"We have some brilliant heritage assets in this area, including buildings, archives and museums", says Hannah Clinch, Co-founder of POP Shop Enterprises CIC, 'but we know from our research that we need to take a more joined-up approach to managing heritage in this area and bring more investment into the town to ensure that local people, including heritage practitioners, are better supported to manage these assets sustainably.
Convalescent Coast is delivered by Dunoon Goes POP in partnership with Dunoon Community Development Trust, with support from CHARTS, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and the University of Strathclyde, and is made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland.
Find out more and follow the project via The POP Shop.
Find out more about CHARTS' work with Dunoon Goes POP.