As you allude to a majority of this project will need to be public/crowd funded
Whatever SMM and his associates produce, unfortunately this will be the stumbling block. We haven't got the local energy and interest. The only way anything significant will happen is if either the owners take an interest (which they clearly won't) or SMM and co come armed with interested investors. If it is a set of plans and an 'over to you' it quite obviously will be dead in the water. If it is something that is that much of a no brainer then the people behind it will want to invest to turn a profit.
Pity about the new hotel end project.
Can we just get the East finished?!