Bid to breathe fresh life into town centre
A bid to breathe new life into Ayr’s emptying High Street will be staged by hard working volunteers.
The group insist a “cultural hub” can spark much needed footfall at the town’s tired bottom end.
And they hope a plan to rent the former clothing store, Millets, will aid their cause.
FreshAyr, the team behind the project, are not new to opening ‘ pop- up’ spaces in the town.
But boss Robert Singer, 67, insists: “We believe this next phase is potentially our most important.
“Ayr has lost its place as a market town and tourist destination.
“Long gone are the factories, fisheries and agricultural markets of the past – even retail is failing.
“So there is a serious pressing need to rethink the way people engage with High Streets.
“Our project will focus on the arts and use it as a force for regeneration.”
The team have won a three month ‘ proof of cause’ deal which, they hope, will lead in turn to later funding.
Robert explained: “We have a five year project in mind with this unit ideally being our permanent base.
“Until now, we have operated around the town on a pop- up basis but that is never ideal. “We’d like this as our home.” The ‘ BREAD arts lab’ will launch next month and run in conjunction with the project’s bakehouse, which is set to operate from Cathcart Street.
Robert said: “We want people to engage with the process... to come in and literally see bread being made before their eyes before taking it home.
“At our High Street base we will stage exhibitions, performances, music and art.
“We want this to be a centre for everything creative.”
• The group will stage a public meeting at their new venue, 58 High Street, tonight ( Wednesday) from 6pm.
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