Ayr Gaiety's curtain set to rise again

Oct 2 2009 by Cheryl McEvoy

THE curtain will rise again on Ayr Gaiety in 2010.

A new team will be appointed to run the theatre next Wednesday.

And a £1million upgrade to the building will be completed before autumn next year.

And the good news doesn’t end there.

For the death sentence will be lifted on Dalmilling Golf Course.

This will end months of misery for golfers campaigning to save the closure threatened facility.

Councillors will decide which one of three bidders will be appointed to take over the running of the Gaiety at a full meeting of South Ayrshire Council on October 7.

They’ll also outline a timescale for vital repairs to begin using the £500,000 in town centre regeneration cash from the Scottish Government and a further £500,000 from the council.

Council leader Hugh Hunter promised to keep the public up to date with progress on the Gaiety.

He said: “People will see things happen fairly quickly once the tendering process for the £1 million in improvements has been completed.

“The facade of the building will be used to give regular progress reports.

“We’re aiming for the Gaiety to reopen by the autumn of 2010 all being well.

“But it will definitely be open in time for the panto next year.”

Councillors will also be asked to vote on a long term plan for council-run golf courses across South Ayrshire.

This is expected to include a recommendation to scrap the proposed closure of Dalmilling Golf Course in January next year.

The council have already confirmed that the course is not being considered as a potential site for a new Ayr Academy.

Councillor Hunter – who has been spotted playing on the Dalmilling course in recent months – insists that public opinion has been an important part of the decision-making process.

He added: “A paper will go before the full council meeting on October 7 outlining the future of golf in South Ayrshire.

“There will be a recommendation for Dalmilling Golf Course as part of that.

“The paper will take a strategic and business- like approach to golf.

“I would like to say that officers and councillors have been listening to what people have said and taken their opinions into account.”