What’shappenedtoAyr?

I was born and brought up in Ayr, left the town in the early 60s and have not returned until fairly recently.

What is happening to The Station Hotel? Where do you get the train for Glasgow now? (Some locals mentioned that it has had to be made safe to protect the travelling public from falling masonry).

I understand that the property is owned by an Asian businessman but the Scottish Government is paying for the cost of the scaffolding and shrouding?

Burns House didn’t exist when I left Ayr and I was pleased to see that such a hideous addition to the glorious Burns Statue Square is currently being removed. The Ice Rink where I spent time in my formative years has gone as has The Gaumont Cinema – I could go on. Yes, like every High Street in the United Kingdom, the retail revolution has left many empty cathedrals of retail such as Debenhams, Hourstons and many others. There are no apparent signs of a local authority strategy to redevelop Ayr and I was reminded of a similar state of affairs in Dumfries where I live now. There would appear to be a fervent community passion on social media to “save Ayr”, as there is in Dumfries with initiatives such as The Midsteeple Quarter, The Crichton Trust and Dumfries Historic Buildings Trust.

I have enjoyed contributing to these projects which are aimed at preserving the architectural and cultural heritage of the town.

Ayr has a rich architectural, cultural, historical and industrial heritage, has a glorious beach and Low Green and is well connected to the world by air, rail and road. Could the good citizens of Ayr get together, raise funds and drive the redevelopment of Ayr as a global tourist destination?

The world loves Scotland and Burns in particular. Why can’t we develop The Station Hotel to become a museum, art gallery, event space, office space, café etc as they have done with public buildings in Aberdeen?

Retain the facades of empty shops in the High Street, Sandgate etc and convert the internals to living accommodation similar to the successful “living above the shop” initiative in Newcastle? Create a traffic free Old Town Quarter around the Sandgate, Newmarket Street and High Street and recobble the streets as they have done to great effect in Prague, Dusseldorf etc. Create a Burns Quarter, Golf Quarter, Harbour Quarter, History Quarter to capitalise on the many priceless treasures remaining in Ayr? Jim Herbert, Dumfries