Promises,promises,promises Praiseforgranddaughter Economicregeneration

I read a fortnight ago about a message from our council leader with some incredulity.

Peter Henderson recommending voters to “be wary of promises that cannot be delivered” is like Will Smith recommending anger management therapy. What happened to the new Ayr Marina he promised? The urgent action on Ayr Station Hotel he promised? The 580 new homes he promised turns out to be - according to SAC’s own figures - just 308. You could fill a newspaper column with the SNP’s failed manifesto promises!

Bob Shields, Ayr

My nine-year-old granddaughter has collected £60 for making and selling blue and yellow bookmarks for the Ukrainian Appeal.

Her school has raised over £1000 so far. A fantastic achievement.

Through a work contact I was offered a batch of surplus youth football kit (socks , shorts , tops etc) which were destined for recycling or potential landfill. My granddaughter suggested that it would be a good idea if we were able to distribute these at the upcoming Youth Football Tournament in Ayr on Old Racecourse, and sell or donate to the Ukrainian Appeal.

Best of all worlds - the kids get new kit, the appeal benefits and also we avoid landfill.

On contacting South Ayrshire Council I was informed that we would require a Traders’ Licence or a Charity Licence to do either.

This would cost at least £75 and would therefore make it difficult to justify. Does anyone else feel that this is a bit harsh and the Council Licencing Team should be a bit more flexible on this occasion?

Name and address supplied

Ayr, Prestwick and environs continue to become less prosperous and more shabby.

This is not surprising as coal continues to become less popular and the harbours quieter. Walk along Ayr High Street, past the gaps with only rubble between, once vibrant shops and buildings with for sale or to rent signs. What we need today is new ideas and investment in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

Here is an idea: South and East Ayrshire Councils did very well to raise over £200 million for the Ayrshire Growth Fund - why not invest £2 million of this - only 1 per cent of the total- in a specialist fund that would invest responsibly in the region. Such a fund invested in Stagecoach when it had less than 500 employees - it now has around 24,000- and its investment in Dobbies was used to finance the opening of its successful Ayr branch.

So, ask the prospective councillor who wants your vote how he/she will regenerate the economy, and in particular those who wish to spend large sums on their party’s grandiose projects that they hope will give them good publicity, and will only result in higher rates.

If this letter strikes a chord with you,contact me and let’s see if we can do something together.