Iconic building set to go under the hammer
An iconic Ayr building is to be sold at auction today (Wednesday) ahead of the 90th anniversary of its opening.
The Playhouse, Ayr – most recognisable today as the town’s popular Mecca Bingo – has a guide price of £375,000 and is one of the last and best surviving buildings by architect John Fairweather.
The building, on 4 Boswell Park, was originally established in 1911 as the Boswell Park Roller Skating Rink.
It was converted by George Green in 1914 into a 2,000 seat Boswell Park Pavilion Cinema, which was demolished after World War I.
A new cinema, named the Playhouse, was built for George Green in 1923 by John Fairweather with a seating capacity of 1700, before being burnt down.
Fairweather then designed The Ayr Playhouse which stands to this day.
It opened on July 8, 1931 and with 3104 seats was the third largest cinema to be built in Scotland. The only other cinema of this scale to survive in Scotland is Fairweather’s Edinburgh Playhouse.
The Category B heritable leisure
investment is now occupied by Mecca Bingo ltd on an extended lease until 2026.
The 35,187 sq ft building sits on a site area of 0.357 acres and produces a current annual rent of £166,498.
The property has been a bingo hall for the last 20 years, providing a reception area, gaming hall and ancillary and office accommodation over ground and first floors. It is positioned adjacent to Ayr’s bus station, operated by Stagecoach West Scotland.
The auction will be broadcast online from Acuitus.co.uk.
A Tory MSP has urged the Scottish Government to fix a huge ‘log-jam’ of operations in NHS Ayrshire and Arran with what she describes are patients “lying in agony”.
Newly-elected Sharon Dowey, who represents the South Scotland region, says SNP ministers must take immediate action to deal with a pile up of surgeries due to the Covid pandemic.
She has hit out after latest health numbers show a 59 per-cent decrease in operations carried out within the health board compared to last year.
New statistics from Public Health Scotland show that in April 2021, just 677 operations took place – down on the 1653 that took place in February 2020.
Mrs Dowey has warned that Ayrshire and Arran faces a “mountain to climb” to get back on track
She said: “We must see the SNP’s new Health Secretary urgently outline a plan to tackle the treatment log-jam that has built up during the pandemic in Ayrshire and Arran to guarantee patients are seen as soon as possible.
“Many of them are waiting lying in agony and cannot wait a moment longer to be seen.”
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf has vowed to produce a detailed NHS Recovery Plan within the first 100 days in office. The Recovery Plan will aim to increase “inpatient, day case, and outpatient activity by 10 per cent above pre-COVID levels.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are working with health boards to get those who have had treatments or procedures postponed due to COVID-19 the care they need as quickly as possible. As part of the plan NHS Ayrshire and Arran will have an Early Cancer Diagnostic Centre established.”
Professor Hazel Borland, Nurse Director and Deputy Chief Executive of NHS Ayrshire and Arran, said: “Unfortunately, there have been a number of patients who have had to wait for treatment, and we apologise to any patient who has to wait longer than would have normally been the case.”