Shame of Sigh Street
Candidates pledge to shed unwanted label
Over the next three editions, we will be looking at three ‘battleground’ wards that could be key to May’s council election.
And today we focus on Girvan and South Carrick, the ward of SNP leader Peter Henderson.
Unsurprisingly, much of the chat among voters focuses on the state of Girvan High Street.
A record seven candidates will fight it out for three seats, with two Conservative and two independent candidates standing alongside one from each of the SNP, Labour and Alba.
Last summer, the High Street received the unwanted label of “worst high street in the UK”.
The organisers of the ‘award’, Harper Dennis Hobbs, based their findings on “very weak retail offer” and the fact that more than a quarter of properties were vacant.
Almost a year on, improving the town centre and attracting more visitors remains the common priority for voters.
While residents called on South
Ayrshire Council to provide incentives to attract businesses into the town, the three hoping to be re-elected to the council acknowledged the issue.
SNP leader, Mr Henderson, said at the time that the report didn’t take account of the location, employment rates and demographics of the town.
He also pointed to projects such as the ‘Buy Local’ campaign and community wealth building programme.
Independent Alec Clark and Conserative Ian Fitzsimmons argued that there was a host of shops in the town and that empty units were being brought back into use.
The decline in the town’s High Street has been ongoing, despite efforts such as the council’s shopfront grant scheme in 2015.
The other major issue in the area has been the controversial proposal to install an all-weather sports pitch in Victory Park.
The problems around the project have been twofold.
Victory Park forms part of Girvan Common Good Fund, having been given to the town by the Dalrymple-Hamilton family.
The plan to create the fenced off pitch on the land has been subjected to severe criticism by a number of locals. One independent candidate, Todor Radic, has this as the prime reason for standing.
As well as accusing the council of undertaking a “land grab,” other objectors argue that the pitch, which has its location changed a number of times due to flooding issues, is simply in the wrong place and would accentuate an already stretched drainage system, which sees standing water on the park flow into the small Mill Burn, directly adjacent to a number of houses.
Supporters have fought back vociferously, arguing that Girvan is the only town in South Ayrshire not to have a full size all-weather pitch.
Girvan and South Carrick saw a number of independent candidates stand in 2017, three in total. That is the case again in 2022.
It is worth looking back at how the residents have voted since multi-member wards were brought in, in 2007.
Independent Councillor Alec Clark, who was a member of the SNP-led coalition, was top of the first preference vote in 2017, with 33 percent.
He was more than six percent ahead of Conservative Ian
Fitzsimmons, who had 26.7 per cent. It did mark a significant drop in the overall share for Cllr Clark, who had secured more than 47 percent of the vote in 2012.
Cllr Fitzimmons, who is not standing at this election, had a rollercoaster ride since the introduction of multi-member wards in 2007.
That year he came out top on first preference votes (37.3 percent), only to drop into last place in 2012 with just 15.84 percent. However, he returned in 2017, with 26.7 percent of first preferences.
The SNP vote has been more stable over the period.
Cllr Henderson picked up 19.3 percent of votes, to take the last of the three seats in 2017.
2017 Result (% of first preference votes)
Alec Clark IND 33%
Ian Fitzsimmons CON 26.7% Peter Henderson SNP 19.3% Karen Clark-McCartney IND 9.5% Owen Martin LAB 9.4%