Unite to build a better Ayr
It is no good people blaming the current administration for the mess Ayr is in.
It has taken much longer than that for this legacy of ignored crumbling historic buildings with neglectful and disinterested owners, sometimes keeping buildings empty as investments.
The council was not alone, since responsibility for their legal and financial position rests elsewhere.
Austerity has a share of the blame. I have been trying to effect some changes and have found the council leaders open to new ideas on conserving Ayr town centre.
They have made some good decisions, including the conservation and sensitive new uses for Ayr Academy. They have also responded to public opinion. The top officials are less open to change I have found.
However I am puzzled by the High Flats decision. If the flats are unsafe they require attention. I attended a Community Council meeting some months ago where one area of discussion was about relative costs of demolition and repairs of the flats. It was cheaper to demolish than upgrade the old. It was not necessarily better. I was only listening in as I went to talk about the Station Hotel. It also appeared that the tenants were happy there which has always been my understanding. What I hear from various folk is that safety work has been done, extra plugs fitted in corridors for recharging batteries for wheelchairs etc and that upgrading of anything else is not vital.
On the other hand it is reported that some of the the tenants are frail and needs are unmet. At this point you wonder why those particular tenants are not accommodated elsewhere and we widen the criteria for tenancy. It seems strange to demolish, move everybody and end up with fewer housing stock for the council. Surely the council should effectively publicise any safety and cost information so that everybody knows exactly why the decisions were made. If strangely, the decision only rests on the will of the tenants, they should surely consult the tenants again if there is any assertion being made that SAC consultation with the tenants was not entirely valid. With the costs involved there has to be more and better communication. I am hoping to bring people together to effect some improvement in Ayr town centre. It needs cross community including council cooperation. There are various strands, various bodies which require to cooperate. A Community Development Trust is a way to allow the community the option to Compulsory Purchase one area of the centre and facilitate other funding. There is a Rough Plan which was in the Post which appears in the Save Ayr Station website if you have not read it. At least includes talk of funding options unlike some others. I think this is one way to proceed and could be a start. It needs the community including groups, individuals, businesses , the council, professional bodies etc all to work together. I am not the best person to be pushing this, but I am trying to bring this together and it is hard going. There is need for more compromise and cooperation or we will not fare well Esther ( Clark) Ronaldshaw Park, Ayr
Ashamed of High Street I refer to D Calderwood’s letter last week regarding litter and the town centre and write to agree wholeheartedly with the views expressed.
I am ashamed of the state of our High Street and feel sorry for any tourists who make the mistake of venturing away from the tourist destinations to head into town. Apart from the crumbling buildings, they can look forward to litter strewn streets, bins which are overflowing and if they’re really lucky an attack from the local seagulls. How was your visit to Ayr? Great! I got to visit A& E for a tetanus jab! I routinely pickup other people’s litter in and around the Castlehill area when I’m out walking my dog. I’m sure most people take their litter home and if this is the case, then presumably the volume of litter is down to a few neer- do- well knuckledraggers. know the council are keen to issue parking tickets as this is a rich income stream, however unless they start issuing litter dropping tickets too they’ll lose this income stream as no- one will want visit the town centre
Richard Maxton, Greentree Park, Ayr
China trip irony So the powers that be have decided to send a delegation to China, now normally I would say it’s a waste of taxpayers money, but no not in this instance, as China has a lot to learn from our esteemed elected member and officers on a variety of topics.
Like how to ignore dissent from its population, on all manner of things from manipulating votes to destroying people’s homes to using them as cash cows to balance its budget.