THE DEATH OF AYR HIGHSTREET
Kyle Centre shut for good say bosses
Ayr High Street has suffered another hammer blow when The Kyle Centre announced it is shutting for good.
The town centre has been left reeling with the bombshell news that the centre will not reopen when the national lockdown ends.
Ayr MSP John Scott said this week: “It ’s also a further hammer blow to the top end of the town, already reeling from a run of of closure announcements.”
Owners of the Kyle Shopping Centre in Ayr said the decision to close their doors for good was “not taken lightly”.
The Post can reveal that a deal to transform the Kyle into a multi-million pound leisure development – to complement South Ayrshire Council’s swimming and leisure plans – is still alive.
Ayr town centre has suffered yet another devastating body blow – with the revelation that the centre will not reopen when national lockdown ends.
The decision ended a 33-year trading association with the town and left as many as 15 traders without a pitch.
Stunned shopkeepers at the town’s former ‘go-to’ shopping destination found out on social media that the owners of the centre pulled the plug.
Steven Mackie, 22, from Ayr, runs Sports Prints, a fledgling business that only moved into the Kyle Centre in November.
His business sells football prints from both Scottish and English clubs. He is one of several business owners now left looking for alternative premises.
He said: “The only reason I found out was through some friends messaging me who had seen something on Facebook.
“It wasn’t a good thing to find out, not just for my business, but for the High Street in general.
“I phoned up the next day to clarify if it was true. Unfortunately it was.
“However, the business manager (Fiona Paton) said it was out the blue.”
But the owners say that a deal to transform the Kyle into a multi-million pound leisure destination is very much alive.
Graham Hamilton, asset manager at Alloway (Scotland LLP), said: “The Kyle Centre will not reopen following the national lockdown.
“Unfortunately, the pandemic has delayed our redevelopment plans/negotiations and brought forward the inevitable closure of the centre where only a handful of occupiers and charities were operating on a temporary licence basis.
“This decision has not been taken lightly but it was always part of our plan.
“Despite the impact of COVID-19, we have been working extremely hard on our redevelopment plans and securing an anchor occupier.
“We hope to announce those plans by the end of this month.
“This will be a leisured-based operator and complement the swimming/leisure centre which South Ayrshire Council (SAC) are proposing on the Hourstons/ Arran Mall site.
“Our plan is very much in line with SAC’s plan for the rejuvenation of the town centre with the creation of a leisure ‘hub’.”
Trading ended at the centre on Christmas Eve.
The closure is being viewed as a watershed moment in Ayr’s retail demise.
Those affected by the permanent closure include a bed and furniture shop, a real hair and beauty shop, Sports
Prints, a beauty therapist, gift and card shop, a vaping shop; a small jewellers, a child clothing shop, additional gift shops and a thrift store.
Some units catered for charities, while there was a cycle shop, a workshop and a community gift exchange too.
More than 15 businessmen and women are thought to be adversely affected.
They are now awaiting official
correspondence from the owners’ solicitors as to when they can retrieve their stock.
Mr Mackie added: “It is a shame as the Kyle Centre was extremely cheap. For the amount of space you got and for the price, you won’t get anything anywhere near as cheap as there.”
Anyone who can help Steven and his fellow traders in terms of new premises will be made most welcome. Contact Steven via his Sports Prints, Ayr Facebook page if you can assist.
The Post contacted the centre’s business manager, Fiona Paton, about the closure but she declined to comment.
Steven, meanwhile, stressed that he has no axe to grind with Fiona, saying she was “very supportive”, adding: “I can’t say a bad word about her, she’s helped every business out in there substantially.”
It wasn’t a good thing to find out, not just for my business but for the High Street in general