£ 11m shambles is a waste of money
New building won’t see light of day
The public have huffed . . . South Ayrshire Council have puffed . . . but I think it’s safe to say that the council office edifice planned for the Ayr riverside site has finally been blown down.
As one of my customers would eloquently put it – “it’s Sam Snead, it’s Oliver Reed, it’s brown breid . . . it’s deid!”
Let’s be honest here – this whole nonsense should never even has got as far as being a non- starter.
The building’s design looked like something a teenager would construct for an ‘ A’ Level in Lego.
And even if it had been an architectural wonder to rival Sydney Opera House – the sensible Ayrshire public know that South Ayrshire Council needs £ 11 million of new offices like the Titanic needed more icebergs.
Architects’ drawings, artistic impressions, site maps - and lots of that new buzz word, “consultation” – are hiding the truth that the riverside council office block is really the Emperor’s Suit of Clothes.
For starters, South Ayrshire Council hasn’t got two bob to rub together - and this shiny new nest with a riverside view is an unaffordable, unprincipled pipe dream.
And talking of pipe dreams, so are the hotels, shops, restaurants, offices, Pyramid of Giza, Colossus of Rhodes and Hoover Dam that all seem to have been earmarked for this prime piece of Scottish real estate.
The story so far is that Ayr Renaissance have – commendably – bulldozed a giant space in part of Ayr that passed away years ago.
And they’ve promised potential investors a VIP trip through the planning process if they come up with what SAC are looking for.
To be fair, it’s probably the best they could do. But in today’s economic climate, the big Plc’s wouldn’t touch this site with a bargepole that had a civil engineer on the end of it.
I note that a letter from reader Scott Andrew was inviting bets on this office project being approved.
Scott, I’ve got £ 100 - for a charity of course - that says it never sees the light of day.
I predicted months ago that this current group of councillors would end their five year term without witnessing a single brick being laid in earnest on this gap site.
I stand by it.
And if some archaeological geek happens to dig up a petrified unicorn dropping – it could be five years after that!
Rather than focus on this “new” office – I’d rather we turned the spotlight back onto South Ayrshire Councils’ current properties.
If the two ugliest buildings in the world mated – their first born would look like Burns House.
Some of its inmates tell me that if the heating, plumbing and telephones are all functioning on the same day – the staff get sent home to recover from the shock.
And then there’s Castle Greyskull. It’s grand, it’s old, it’s an architectural treasure . . . and its windows are held in with Blue Tack.
Will this “new” office see the end of Burns House? And what will be the plan to replace it?
Will it see the end of the County Buildings?
Or will we keep the grand council chamber that’s served Ayrshire well for decades?
I don’t see a lot of “consultation” going on regarding these huge issues.
The sensible option here hasn’t changed – it’s called patience.
Tidy up this gap site – sow grass, plant trees and make it a little green oasis with riverside views.
Throw some “community service” labour at it – and it would do a temporary job for just one per cent of f that £ 11 million office estimate.
Ayr waited a decade for something g to happen at the riverside.
If we have to wait another ten years s for the right plans and funding to be in place – so be it.
Whatever we put there is our legacy to our grandchildren’s grandchildren.
How about we get it right?
This shiny new nest with a riverside view is an unaffordable, unprincipled pipe dream