South Ayrshire Council News

The Council has taken a major step forward in ‘The Renaissance of Ayr Town Centre: A Strategy for the Future’.

Members of the Council’s Leadership Panel have given approval to establish a Project Team, to take forward the next stage of ‘The Renaissance of Ayr Town Centre: A Strategy for the Future’, so that the project can be corporately driven forward by the Council. The Team will engage with other Council Departments and external consultants, then deliver each stage of a complex and challenging process.

It detailed an imaginative project that could take over 20 years to complete and will need a financial commitment of around £300 million. The document contained proposals for reconstructing Burns Statue Square, creating a public plaza, developing both north and south “hubs” of Ayr High Street, the construction of hotels and commercial premises, and the development of town centre housing.

Councillor Hugh Hunter, the Leader of the Council, and Chair of the Leadership Panel said: “This is an exciting project that will breathe new life into Ayr town centre and the result will be economic growth in and around the town.

“It is crucial that a highly skilled Project Team is in place to drive the Renaissance of Ayr Town Centre forward. Decisions that will be taken in the initial stages will provide firm and lasting foundations that will be built on in future years.

“I want to see all of Ayr flourish and believe that having a vibrant and flourishing Ayr, back on the map as the county town of Ayrshire, is critical to that. We must not forget that it cannot be seen in isolation and will go hand in glove with future projects to enrich the whole of South Ayrshire.”

The Project Team will initially consist of : 

• Director of Project – responsible for both the strategic direction and operation of the project, and directly responsible to the Chief Executive.
• Co-ordinator of Project – to ensure an appropriate provision of professional administration support and effective co-ordination of project activities.
• Administrative Officer – to provide day to day administrative support to the team.

Tom Cairns, Chief Executive of the Council said: “This very exciting development which I believe will see the transformation of Ayr over the next generation. The next 12 to 18 months is a crucial planning and developmental stage for the project. The establishment of a dynamic Project Team and Project Director is a key element in moving this agenda forward.” 

Once established the project team will develop an Outline Business Case and a range of ways in which to progress the project within a timeframe. It is anticipated that the timeframe will be presented to the Leadership Panel in December 2007.

In 2007/08 funding of the Project Team staff and their associated costs will be met through the Contingency Fund and in 2008/08 they will be met from the Revenue Budget Exercise.