South Ayrshire set for sale of the century

Jun 19 2009

THE future of Ayr’s County Buildings and Burns House are uncertain as the council bid to save cash.

The landmark buildings are included in a review of the entire South Ayrshire estate – which needs £156 million to bring it up to scratch.

A report outlining the condition of every council owned building reveals the shocking cost to the public purse.

And it explains how council chiefs want to centralise services in as few buildings as possible to save money.

They currently operate 29 office buildings across South Ayrshire. These have a total running cost of more than £2 million a year.

Many of these buildings could close and be offered for sale as the council bid to reduce the number of offices across the county to just six.

These include offices in Ayr’s Bath Place, 8, 10 and 25 Wellington Square, Newton House, Green Street, Holmston House and Kyle Street.

Offices in Prestwick’s Links Road and The Cross, Maybole High Street, Dalrymple Street in Girvan are also among those being considered.

The future of County Buildings in Wellington Square will also be reassessed.

The report explains that a single office building could house up to 600 back office staff.

A brand new office block on the site of the former Mainholm Academy could be built.

Although the council will also consider renting premises on the outskirts of Ayr or even spending £10.5 million refurbishing Burns House.

The report took three years to compile and no council owned property has been left out.

Leisure facilities, recycling centres, depots and yards will also be rationalised.

The council’s estates manager Audrey Greenwood said: “This is a significant step forward, it is not a fixed plan. It is not complete and will continue to evolve.

“It represents a big step forward in the council’s efforts to effectively plan and manage its operational property assets.

“It sets out a clear plan of action in many operational areas for the 10 year period ahead.”