Ayrshire's Big Idea: A look back 20 years after it closed

The Big Idea, based on the Ardeer peninsula just across the river from Irvine, was an interactive celebration of Scotland's scientists and inventions - and when it opened its doors in 2000, the visitor numbers topped 120,000.

Yet just three years later, as the number of visitors dwindled, the £11 million centre closed - for good.

Today - 20 years since the doors shut on The Big Idea in the late summer of 2003 - it still lies empty and ruined, with the retractable bridge which took people from Irvine's harbourside to the centre now gathering rust.

So what was The Big Idea? And why did such an expensive project fall flat?

David Mann was the CEO of The Big Idea, run by Nobel Enterprises, throughout the rise and fall of the project.

Still working in Irvine, but as head of the Scottish Maritime Museum, David firmly believes it was the opening of the Glasgow Science Centre in the summer of 2001 which finally sank the Big Idea. 

He said: "I joined The Big Idea in 1999, and by that time they had broken ground and moved from the original site, which was Africa House in Ardeer.

"The funding was in place, and it was a case of completing the building and getting it operational.

“Once it opened, it went down really well with visitors and it was incredibly successful that first summer.

“We had some great events. Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the Moon, came to see us.”

The new building featured  five 'focal points' - Power, Control, Materials, Communication and Mechanisms. It also contained a theatre named after Alfred Nobel.

And the crowds loved it - at first.

School trips came from as far away as the north of England, as well as the whole of Scotland, to enjoy the interactive exhibits.

But there were a few issues right from the start.

While visitors flocked to The Big Idea in summer, winters could be slow.

David Mann (Image: Scottish Maritime Museum)

"We always had problems getting people to cross the bridge in winter," David said.

"We put in a central panel to give it more of a windbreak. Most of the inventors' panels are still legible on it. It was great when the sun was shining going over that bridge. Not so much in January.

“One of the most pleasurable things was seeing families enjoy The Big Idea, particularly the modelling work and crafting."

But there was trouble ahead - with the opening of the Glasgow Science Centre.

David said: "The first year was phenomenal. The second year was still reasonably respectable too. Then the Glasgow Science Centre opened.

“We knew it would have an effect. We were drawing visitors from the north of England, north of Scotland, east of Scotland, Edinburgh and the like.

“It restricted our attendance to the more south of Scotland audience, which was never going to be enough to satisfy.

“The vast majority of them could now stop in Glasgow and visit a centre which was bigger and had more in it than we did down here."

By 2003, numbers were dwindling.

David said: “We realised we would require more funding to keep going. And there was none available.

“I think if we went through that same process again today, there’s no doubt that funding would be easier, due to the number of jobs created there, plus the support it would give to the whole harbourside area..

“It was ahead of its time, with the tracking system we used to get people round the centre and the key fobs which gave access. These are commonplace now.

“We were making plans to refresh the exhibits when it all ended. If more funding had come through, we would have changed it quite considerably.

”The staff at the Big Idea were fantastic. They had a great belief in the building, so they were incredibly disappointed when it closed.

"But there was acceptance that we couldn’t generate enough footfall to continue.

“If I could change anything I did? Concentrate on looking for external partnerships rather than operational working."

The initial idea came through the Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston Enterprise Trust, and former councillor Sam Gooding played a big part in that.

Inside the abandoned Big Idea (Image: Contributed)

David said: "The original site for The Big Idea was Africa House, much closer to Stevenston.

"It was decided to swap from the Ardeer part of the site geographically to the Irvine site – which caused a but of a rankle, and made it hard for us to get full council support going forward."

So is there any hope that a use will finally be found for The Big Idea site?

David revealed: "NPL Group own the estate and the buildings. There have been various proposals for leisure uses, with BMX and high wire trails, but nothing really got passed.

“I have often thought about the potential of the site with regards to the Maritime Museum taking it on – but it is too much of a risk. And NPL don’t seem to want to separate the building from the rest of the site, with view to a potential development or sale.

“Hopefully someone can make a success of it, because it will have a big impact on Irvine harbourside."

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin visited The Big Idea (Image: NASA)

Twenty years on from the closure of The Big Idea, David has a happier anniverary to celebrate soon.

October will mark the 40th anniversary of another major attraction for Irvine and Ayrshire, the Scottish Maritime Museum, where David has now worked for 20 years.

And some big events are planned to mark the occasion, which will be revealed soon.

David said: “It has been a good July and August at the Maritime Museum, and June wasn’t that bad either – better than before the pandemic. We came out of the pandemic really, really well.

“We now have a focus on events and exhibitions. Our summer craft and food fayre saw 8,000 people come along, and the harbourside businesses were delighted and reported a great response."

Looking back, David said: “My favourite memories of the Big Idea? My kids were in all the promotional material, including appearing in the TV advert.

“In the first week people were queuing up to get in from 10am to 4pm. The queue was from the front of the building right across the car park. We had to tell some of them to go away and come back later.

“The building won a Scottish Thistle Award for architecture too.

”I just think a similar project today achieving the kind of numbers we did when it closed, probably would still get support and it wouldn’t be an issue."