Up to £1 million is to be spent on the complete refurbishment of Ayr Town Hall, paid for from the Ayr Common Good Fund, in a move which should see the building re-instated as a prestigious location attracting civic pride.

The work to be undertaken during a six month period starting in October includes replacement of the electrical system in the entire building as well as replacing heating and ventilation systems and general refurbishment.

Lets of the Town Hall will not be possible during the refurbishment and organisations scheduled to use the building have been contacted regarding alternative accommodation.

The decision to go ahead was taken at a meeting of South Ayrshire Council’s Policy and Resources Committee on Resource Management, after receiving a report that included a risk assessment by the  Council’s Corporate Safety Team and its Strategy and Design Services.

Explained Councillor Gibson T. Macdonald, Leader of South Ayrshire Council and Convener of the Committee: “The report made it quite clear that most of the electrical installation in the Town Hall is in poor condition, both electrically and mechanically.

“We had already considered part refurbishment of the building, however the latest information provides us with clear reasons to completely upgrade it. In doing so, we can bring the town hall back to a standard that the people of Ayr should be proud of.”

Earlier this year the Council’s Policy and Resources Committee had considered a report recommending refurbishment, including heating, ventilation and electrical systems within certain areas of the Town Hall, with upgrading of general lighting and renewal of stage lighting within the main hall, and subsequent redecoration.

However it had been decided to continue consideration of this to allow a full risk assessment to be undertaken.

Said Councillor Macdonald: “The report we have now received does not make good reading.  It appears that as the building has evolved throughout the years so electrical work has been undertaken as appropriate at the time.  It is quite clear that current regulations are not being met.  The most significant faults relate to the age of most of the wiring, redundant wiring not being removed, poor earthing and over-heating cabling.  There would appear also to be a mixture of wiring types, some of it only suitable for domestic installations, and there are three separate incoming supplies where only one would be the modern acceptable standard.”

The report to the sub-committee also explained that lighting circuits were in poor condition and the level of lighting in some areas did not meet modern requirements.

It was also pointed out that, apart from being used by Council staff, the Town Hall was also used by a significant number of external groups, and there were concerns that some events put additional strain on the electrical installation and that sometime in the future there might have been a failure of some sort.

The proposal agreed by the sub-committee involves the upgrading of both the offices of the Council’s Environmental Health, and Internal Audit and public areas, with staff members being relocated.

It was made clear that the Registration, District Court and Licensing offices would continue to function normally, but with some minor inconvenience.

Said Councillor Macdonald: “We have agreed that the work should be undertaken in two phases, which hopefully will dovetail together.  All of the public areas are to be upgraded during the October to March shutdown.

“During the early part of the shutdown period, a Working Group which is currently looking at the Town Hall and surrounding area to assess what might be done to bring about a much sought after renaissance, will come to a view on how it sees the offices currently occupied by Environmental Health and Internal Audit being used in the future.

“This should allow the necessary design work to be carried out and permit an on-site start on the second phase immediately after the first phase finishes, and while the contractor is still on site.”

The cost of the complete refurbishment is being estimated at around £1,000,000 but actual costs will only be known once tenders for the work have been received.

Councillor Macdonald added: “This is a one-off opportunity to restore the building  to the level of prestige and civic pride that it has enjoyed in the past.”

May 2006