Ayr TownCentreStrategy & Action PlanApril 2019

Appendix 1.

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IntroductionHistorical ly, Ayr High Street has been a major

asset for the town, both for locals and vis itors

al ike. Over t ime, a number of retai l outlets have

closed down and its role as a regional shopping

destination has decl ined.

This is a s i tuation that is being experienced in

towns across the country. There is a real isation

that this trend is not going to reverse, so towns

should be looking at other ways to reinvent

themselves to make people want to use them

again.

This document looks to set out South Ayrshire

Counci l ’s plan to address these issues and

bring about changes that wil l help improve

social , cultural and economic activit ies that

wil l boost the local economy, improve the

visual appearance and attractiveness of Ayr

as a destination and reinvigorate the historic

borough town.

The f irst part of the document explains the

Counci l ’s s trategy for the High Street fol lowed

by a summary of the recent consultation

exercise `Ayr Your Views’ where people were

asked for their thoughts on what the Counci l

was planning to do.

An action plan is next that has been developed

to provide fur ther detai l and timeframes for a

number of projects that the Counci l are looking

to take forward to del iver the strategy. I t is

planned to have fur ther public consultation

exercises specif ic to each of these projects as

they move through the design and planning

stages.

Document Structure

STRATEGY 1.1 Strategic Zones

1.2 Strategic Initiatives1.0

THE ACTION PLAN 3.1 Culture & Heritage

3.2 Leisure & Recreation

3.3 Retail

3.4 Burns Statue Square

3.0

CONSULTATION SUMMARY2.0

TIMELINES4.0

4 5

1.0StrategyT H E C H A L L E N G E Town centres and high

streets across the country are experiencing

unprecedented pressures as a result of

changes to the way people shop. The rise

in internet shopping and the growing trend

for edge of town retail parks is taking its toll .

Ayr town centre has not been immune to

this phenomenon and has itself experienced

a significant reduction in the number of

retail outlets on the high street. It is widely

recognised that for town centres l ike Ayr’s

to recover, they must look beyond retail and

diversify into other areas to help encourage

more people to use it more of ten.

T H E P L A N As a destination, Ayr has much to

offer through its history, culture, sports and

enter tainment venues. At present these are

primarily located peripherally and do not

directly benefit the centre of the town. It

is proposed to redress this imbalance by

introducing onto the high street areas that

focus on these aspects to help rediscover

its purpose and vitality. Together with

improvements to the look, feel and usability

of the area, the vision would be to create a

bustling town centre for people to l ive, work

and shop; a destination for recreation and

enter tainment both day and night.

6 7

Shopping wil l continue to form an important

element of the town centre; however i t is

anticipated that this wil l continue to reduce,

with the main retai l core retained towards

the upper part of the high street and smaller

independent retai lers and establ ished

businesses continuing in-situ as current .

As businesses close, gaps are appearing where

shop units are lying empty for a substantial

period of t ime. The counci l is looking to work

with owners to help attract tenants and improve

the overal l look & feel of the town centre.

Ayr has much to offer people of al l ages and

interests through its history, culture and bui l t

heritage. I t is proposed to create an area that

could become the new civic and ar tis tic heart of

the town centre.

An area for culture and heritage would be

created at the lower end of the high street with

an events/community space on the riverside

site, a small museum at the Town Hall corner

and a new archive/registration and community

ar ts faci l i t ies in the old Ayr Academy. This wil l

supplement the cultural at tractions already

avai lable nearby in the Town Hall , Loudon Hal l

and Carnegie Library.

This area is a key entry point to the town centre

by road and rai l . The space should not only

present vis i tors with a good f irst impression but

should also act as a gateway providing l inkages

with the town centre and beyond.

The Counci l is progressing with plans to come

out of Burns House and disperse staf f to other

off ices within Ayr. This wil l a l low the demolit ion

of Burns House and be a key catalyst project

giving the abi l i ty to redevelop the area.

Discussions are also ongoing regarding the

future of the station hotel . Any plans for the

square are dependent on the outcome of these

init ia l exercises .

A. CULTURE & HERITAGE C. RETAIL

D. BURNS STATUE SQUAREThere is a need to diversify the town centre

offer to cater for a wider audience and

encourage greater community participation.

The middle section of the high street would see

the introduction of a new leisure/recreation

complex. This development would see the

transformation of an area currently occupied by

the Arran Mall and Kyle Centres into a complex

offering sports , cinema, dining and recreation

day and night .

B. LEISURE & RECREATION

O u r p rop os a l is to es ta b lis h 4 key zone s w ith in th e tow n ce ntr e , e ach one focu s ing on a p a r ticu la r u s e

1.1Strategic Zones

8

In addition to the 4 strategic zones, there

are 4 K E Y I N I T I AT I V E S that the Counci l

would l ike to take forward that wil l

interl ink and permeate al l the key elements

providing a cohesive approach to the look

and feel of the town and the way people

get about:

A . R E S I D E N T I A LThe balance of high street uses must

del iver activit ies and functions that are

complementary, and not supplementary, to

current town centre uses .

Increasing and improving appropriate

residential types (Image 1) , not l imited to

private or social , but also models such as care

homes and assisted l iving wil l be essential to

the evolution towards a multi faceted centre

that accommodates the needs of the local

population.

Retai l should remain as an important use class

on the High Street and the social economic

issues relating to retai l , such as employment

and income streams, should not be ignored.

The strategy should therefore careful ly

consider how to transit ion the existing

businesses into a smaller retai l core with

small independent retai lers forming a greater

proportion (Image 2) .

B . C O L L A B O R AT I V E C O M M E RC I A L S PAC E SThe co-working phenomenon has become

a sensation in the business world in recent

years . With more workers choosing co-

working spaces over traditional off ice space,

col laborative work spaces are springing up in

our towns and cit ies to offer a rel iable place

to work with other l ike-minded individuals

(Image 3) .

C . P U B L I C R E A L M/ WAY F I N D I N G/S U S T R A N SThe Public Realm of Ayr Town Centre is r ich

with character and heritage. We want the

public space to attract people to vis it and,

most importantly, enjoy spending time in

Ayr Town Centre. This means taking the

opportunities to improve the public space

(Image 4) .

Clear wayfinding information and

interpretation signs should sit at local points

of interest , enhancing the town’s landscape

and directing the public around the town

centre.

Where there is a continuity of material i ty

in the ground surface it can be easy and

effective to punctuate this with bold signage

(Image 5) .

D . S C H E D U L E O F E V E N T SAyr already has an impressive track record

in arranging & hosting events & festivals that

bring vis itors to the town and help boost

the local economy. I t is proposed to bui ld

on this success to increase the number of

events happening in the town, particularly in

and around the town centre. Creating venues

such as the new riverside events space wil l

help provide f lexible spaces to cater for this

(Image 6) .

1.2StrategicInitiatives

1 . Putney High Street Residentia l Development by Grid Architects 2 . Pais ley Town Centre usage proposal by Threesix ty Architecture3 . Rookie Oven tech-focussed co-work space in Govan 4 . Example of publ ic realm materia l i ty improvement5 . Example of sur face wayf inding design6 . Example of publ ic realm event

1 2 3

4 5 6

1 0 1 1

2.0Consultation SummaryWe al l need to work together to make Ayr

the best place to l ive, work and vis it . South

Ayrshire Counci l has a vis ion for the town

centre but are we on the right track? A

consultation exercise took place to provide the

public with an opportunity to have their say.

As part of the consultation, a drop in event

took place over 2 days (27 and 28 November

2018) at Ayr Town Hall and an onl ine survey

ran over 4 weeks from 19 November to 14

December 2018. In total 200 people attended

the open days and 2700 onl ine surveys were

received.

This page summarises some of the key

f indings of the survey process . South Ayrshire

Counci l have published a detai led report

which is avai lable at : south-ayrshire.gov.uk/

consultations/ayr-your-views

W H AT W O U L D B R I N G YO U I N TO AY R TO W N C E N T R E M O R E O F T E N ?

M O D E R N E N T E RTA I N M E N T

C O M P L E X

A RT G A L L E R Y M U S E U M R E G U L A R E V E N T S

S P O RT S A N D L E I S U R E

FAC I L I T I E S

OT H E R

57% 43%18% 38%21% 25%

R E S I D E N T I A LDo you think empty shops on the high street should be converted for people to l ive in?

57%Y E S

20%N O

23%U N S U R E

L E I S U R E A N D E N T E RTA I N M E N TDo you think the Citadel should be replaced with a more modern facil ity?

46%Y E S

24%N O

30%UNSURE2700

RESPONSES

R I V E R S I D EDo you consider a public space at the

riverside site good use of the space?

62%Y E S

16%N O

22%U N S U R E

AT TE N DA N C E6% of respondents attended the consultation event, while 94% submittted their views online.

G E N D E R54% of respondents identified as female, 43% identified as male, while 3% either identified as other or preferred not to say.

1 2 1 3

3.0The Action Plan

This action plan has been developed to

explain the Council ’s short, medium and long

term plans to help deliver its strategy for the

town centre.

It will provide details on a number of projects

that the Council is looking to proceed with

together with details of other projects that

are currently underway.

As well as explaining what the projects are,

the plan will also provide details of how we

intend to deliver them. Timelines have also

been added to give people a feel for when

each of the projects will be finished.

1 4 1 5

3.1Culture & Heritage

Following the demolit ion of the existing shop units

on the riverside block, i t became apparent that

there was an appetite to retain the openness of the

area and the l inks subsequently created between

the high street and the river.

This was fur ther reinforced during the Ayr Your

Views public consultation held at the end of 2018

when 62% of respondents agreed with the idea of

creating a public space on the site that could be

used by the community and for events .

I t is now proposed to create a space that supports

a programme of events throughout the year,

faci l i tates regular pop up markets , provides space

for relaxation and interaction with the river and

offers an opportunity to celebrate local ar t , history

and culture. The potential this offers is s ignif icant

and could bring a new range of vis i tors into the

town centre.

RIVERSIDE SITE

P R O P O S A LS

In order to redress the current imbalance between

retai l and residential use at the bottom of the high

street , i t is proposed to look at ways to introduce

new homes by working with landlords to help

convert empty properties or bui ld new housing in

keeping with the character of the area. There is an

opportunity to introduce a small number of residential

units on the Riverside site, a proposal that received

support during the `Ayr Your Views’ consultation.

Introducing more housing supports local businesses

and makes town centres more vibrant with increased

hours of activity day and night . This approach also

al igns with the Scottish Governments `Town Centre

First Principle’ and is supported by the Counci l ’s Local

Development Plan.

RESIDENTIALPROPOSAL S

I t is proposed to appoint the Counci l ’s del ivery

partner HubSW to oversee an exercise to select a

design team to progress plans for the site creating

a new type of urban space for Ayr bringing together

landscape, events , urban design and public

enjoyment on a unique site in the town.

A design brief has been commissioned from ARPL

Architects that reflects the Counci l ’s aspirations and

the public feedback from the recent `Ayr Your Views’

consultation.

Design Teams from the HubSW framework with a

proven track record for projects of this type wil l

be asked to demonstrate how they wil l respond

to this brief including their approach to a number

of key factors including creativity, innovation,

sustainabil i ty, f lexibi l i ty, bui ldabil i ty and cost

management .

A Sounding Board wil l be appointed to assist

with the assessment of the submissions before

announcing the successful candidate in August 2019.

TEAM SELECTION

1 6 1 7

P R O P O S A LSThe Ayr Grammar Project wil l see the

historic Ayr Academy bui ldings completely

refurbished and remodelled to create an

inspiring modern faci l i ty with a bright new

entrance connecting the school , early years

and community ar t faci l i t ies . The project

also includes a new Archive and Registration

Centre with i ts own entrance on South

Harbour Street , providing public access

to archive material as well as registration

services .

AYR GRAMMAR PRIMARY SCHOOL , Early Years Archive and Registration Centre P R O P O S A LS

To fur ther recognise this important area’s

heritage, the intention is to create a small

heritage museum in the old shop unit at the

corner of Sandgate and High Street that can

display and showcase important ar tefacts of

Ayr ’s r ich heritage.

MUSEUMPROPOSAL

1 . Ayr Grammar Bui lding 2 . Old Citadel3 . Town Hal l

1 2

1 91 8

T H E A P P R O AC H & C O N C E P TThe creation of a leisure hub would increase

footfall and extend the active hours of this area of

the town centre, allowing more nightlife to thrive

and more community activities to take place.

Work requires to be undertaken to understand

the type of facil it ies a new leisure centre should

be looking to provide. This would involve

consultation with a number of stakeholders to

capture views on the matter. It is proposed that

this would lead to the development of a design

brief that would then be used to procure a design

for the new leisure facil ity

3.2Leisure & Recreation

During the recent Ayr Your Views consultation,

just under half of al l respondents said they

never use the Citadel Leisure Centre and

the reasons for this varied. Some felt the

faci l i t ies were tired, old fashioned and in poor

condition, others felt i t was too remote, out of

the way, not on bus routes and not pleasant

to walk to. The majority of those surveyed felt

the Citadel should be replaced with a more

modern faci l i ty and if i t were to move closer

to the town centre then a third of respondents

would use i t more of ten than they do now.

Recognising the age and condition of the

Citadel Leisure Centre, and the public views on

the matter, the Counci l is now keen to replace

it with a new leisure faci l i ty closer to the town

centre. Developers are already looking at

proposals to transform the Kyle Centre from

a predominantly retai l based offer to a more

focused leisure led destination compris ing

a new cinema, gym and food and beverage

outlets . There is an opportunity for the Counci l

to bui ld a new leisure centre in the Arran Mall

to l ink up with this development creating a

strong leisure and entertainment hub in the

centre of town that is easi ly accessible by car,

public transport and on foot .

1 . Ayr Leisure Centre Massing Proposal for Arran Mal l s i te 2 . I rv ine’s Por ta l le isure centre3 . Kyle Centre food led refurbishment proposal 4 . Exis t ing Facade and s treet presence of Arran Mal l

1

2 3

4

2 0

I t is widely acknowledged that our high streets

cannot sustain the levels of retai l experienced in

the past . For many years the focus for retai l in the

centre of Ayr has been primari ly among its High

Street , Sandgate and surrounding lanes. This is a

substantial area for a town of i ts s ize. Gaps are

now developing due to shop closures creating

pockets of shops disconnected from each other.

By looking to reduce the general footprint of

retai l within the town centre and focusing more

of this activity towards the upper part of the High

Street i t is hoped that this wil l provide a more

sustainable model for the retai l sector with a

greater proportion of small independent retai lers

than at present .

The counci l has recognised that Ayr has an issue

with empty shops. In certain areas some of these

properties have been empty for over 2 years

or more and give a feel ing of derel iction to the

town. They are not maintained and have unsightly

large ‘A’ frame boards promoting estate agencies .

There is no consistency and this also leads to the

unkempt feel of the town wherever they are.

To this end the counci l are planning a template

revital isation of a ‘ to let/ for sale’ property that

the counci l own (the old James Thin bui lding in

the Sandgate) . This template would be used as a

basis for working with estate agents and owners

of al l the other empty properties in Ayr to

bring them up to a s imilar standard & help f ind

tenants . By taking this approach it is hoped that

i t wil l assist other measures in improving the

look of the high street & encourage businesses

back into the town.

3.3Retail

1 . Graf ton Street , Dubl in 2 . F ish Cross , Ayr

1

2 2 2 3

3.4Burns Statue Square

P L A N S FO R T H E R E D E V E LO P M E N T O F B U R N S S TAT U E S Q UA R E H AV E B E E N S U B J E C T TO C O N S U LTAT I O N W I T H T H E P U B L I C FO R A N U M B E R O F Y E A R S , T H E M O S T R E C E N T B E I N G 2 0 1 8.

These included a number of scenarios including

civic squares , transport interchanges & mixed use

developments . Al l have had a goal of creating a

new gateway to the town centre and a dynamic ,

animated place that is one of the key reference

spaces of the town.

Solutions need to be found for a number of key

bui ldings around the square to ful ly real ise the

potential of any redevelopment plan.

Plans are already underway to decant staf f from

Burns House to a number of existing counci l

off ices including County Bui ldings, Well ington

Square, former Clydesdale Bank bui lding &

Riverside House. I t is proposed to have this work

complete by the end of 2019 to make way for the

demolit ion of the vacant bui lding in 2020.

Redevelopment plans for the square are

predicated on f inding a solution for the Station

Hotel & the relocation of the Odeon Cinema. At

present the future of these bui ldings is unknown.

I t is hoped that the current s i tuation wil l become

clearer over the coming months to al low plans to

develop the square to progress . 1 . Example of transpor t hub design 2 . Example of publ ic space design

1

2

1 . R ivers ide s i te as exis t ing2 . Ayr Leisure Centre Massing Proposal for Arran Mal l s i te 3 . Streetscape / publ ic realm works precedent4 . R ivers ide events / community space precedent

2 52 4

4.0Timelines

1 2

3 4

T H I S PAG E S U M M A R I S E S T H E K E Y P R O J E C T S S O U T H AY R S H I R E C O U N C I L A R E P R O P O S I N G A N D T H E T I M E L I N E S FO R D E L I V E R Y.

S H O P F R O N T T E M P L AT E

• Works to create a template

shopfront wil l commence later this year.

FO R M E R C LY D E S D A L E B A N K

• The transformation of the ground

floor of the former Clydesdale

Bank to a market space wil l be

complete by Summer 2019 and

the upper f loors converted for

off ice use by the end of the year.TO W N H A L L M U S E U M

• The works to convert the vacant

shop wil l be undertaken this year

• New museum wil l be up and

running for the star t of 2020.

AY R G R A M M A R P S , A R C H I V E & R E G I S T R AT I O N C E N T R E

• Demolit ion of the rear of the old

Ayr Academy now complete.

• Refurbishment and extension of

the new faci l i ty now underway.

• Work complete by July 2020 and

the faci l i ty ready to use.

BURN S STATUE SQUARE

• Preparations to decant Burns House already underway

• This wil l be complete by December 2019 fol lowed by the demolit ion of Burns House during 2020.

• Plans to develop the square wil l be moved forward once there is more clarity on future of the Rai lway Station and hotel .

R I V E R S I D E E V E N T S / C O M M U N I T Y S PAC E

• Design Team selected by August

2019.

• Star t works early 2020 and

complete 12 months later.

L E I S U R E C E N T R E

• Engagement with stakeholders

and production of design brief

wil l commence within the next

few months.

• The design and construction

of this faci l i ty wil l take

approximately 3 years with a

new leisure centre targeted to

open in 2023.

S T R E E T S C A P E / P U B L I C R E A L M W O R K S

• To minimise disruption, these

works would be carried out in a

phased manner.

• The timing of each phase wil l be

programmed to marry in with the

other key projects proposed.

S C H E D U L E O F E V E N T S

• This wil l be an ongoing process

that wil l look to grow the

number of events year on year.

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