Culture Quarter is born
Hip new town zone
Six empty shops in a oncebustling retail hub are to re- emerge as Ayr’s first ‘ cultural quarter.’
Units in the town’s tired Queen’s Court will be transformed as part of a movement driven entirely by residents.
FreshAyr, the group behind an urban regeneration project, want to base their ambitious scheme from the former shopping complex.
A “high end cafe” and mix of arts and crafts workshops will stage a two month pilot in the site just off Newmarket Street.
Bosses, who are in talks to win council backing for the launch, then hope to prove their idea is worthy of a three- year funding deal from Creative Scotland.
FreshAyr chair Robert Singer said: “This comes on the back of our ‘ Happening’ event last year, which proved a huge success.
“We’ve negotiated good deals with the landlords to start off our initial two months from June – and from there we will prove our worth to outside funders.
“We know that Ayr cannot be transformed with just a small project like this, but it can prove a very important step.”
Yoga workshops and cookery demonstrations from chefs at Ayrshire College are among plans being hatched.