Ayr’s Registration Office is to be relocated to Ayr Town Hall – with facilities being laid on for wedding ceremonies to be held in the building’s Council Chamber or Committee Room.

Proposals for the move have been given the go-ahead by South Ayrshire Council’s Policy and Resources Committee after it was told that the lease for the present Registration Office at 43 Sandgate - for which the Council pays £32,500 annually - is planned to end on May 27, 2006.

The property currently in use has no full disabled access to the upper floor marriage suite.

The Committee was told that the Registration Office could be accommodated on the ground floor of the Town Hall Building, accessible from the High Street entrance. This would enable access from the pavement, and all parts of the office would be accessible as required by the Disability Discrimination Act.

Weddings could be conducted in the upper floor Council Chamber, or Committee Room which are accessible by lift from the ground floor.

Councillor Andy Hill, Convener of the Policy and Resources Committee, and Leader of South Ayrshire Council explained: “Considerable investment is required in the Town Hall complex in terms of its internal fabric, plant and the facilities there and we are taking steps to maximise the use of this key asset to justify the significant cost of the investment required.

“Using the building for a key public service such as Registration should be viewed as a first step in the process of encouraging more people through the doors of what is a high cost building in a prominent town centre location.”

Councillor Hill pointed out: “The advantages of moving Registration to the Town Hall include the fact that it is a well-known, easy to find facility, with adjoining car parking and with ample accessible accommodation for the conducting of marriage ceremonies.

“Following upgrading works an opportunity will exist for the Council to market the venue as a ‘whole-day’ wedding venue and secure additional revenue from the extended use of the venue. A further advantage will obviously be the on-going saving on the leasing costs of the current property being used in Sandgate.”

A report to the Policy and Resources Committee pointed out that relocating the Registration Service would likely incur refurbishment costs totalling £269,500 – however, as had previously been reported, if the Town Hall/Buildings Complex was to remain in use, considerable capital investment would be required over the next five years to secure its future as an operational centre.

The Committee was told that the cost to refurbish the ground floor area to accommodate the Registration Services has been estimated at £115,600 which would require to be met from the Council’s General Services Capital Programme.

Before any refurbishment work required can start, it will be necessary to replace the electrical and heating systems and the lift from the ground floor to the committee room which is also at the end of its operating life. This cost of this, and associated work, has been estimated at approximately £153,900 - to be funded from the Ayr Common Good which owns the building.

Said Councillor Hill: “The work has to be completed by the end of April so that the lease of the existing property can be terminated on May 27, 2006.”

November 2005