Mystery this week surrounds the long-term future of an iconic Ayr bingo hall.
Mecca, which operates the former Playhouse on Boswell Park, has admitted talks are ongoing over its lease on the site — due to run out in 2026.
The move has led to fears among staff over their employment heading into the winter.
One Mecca worker told Ayrshire Live: "At the moment they're just rumours but it's really unsettling for the staff here.
"We all want to know where our future lies. We're in a cost of living crisis and coming up to Christmas.
"The staff are being told very little, other than to wait for more information. We're being told we'll be the first to know if anything happens, but that doesn't help you sleep at night."
Mecca has operated the historic site as a bingo hall for the past 40 years.
John Dyson, Mecca's operations director, said: "We’re currently in conversations with the landlord regarding the future of our Mecca Bingo venue in Ayr. Nothing has been confirmed as yet, but we'll let our teams and our guests know as soon as we have an update."
Established in 1911 as the Boswell Park Roller Skating Rink, it is one of the last and best surviving buildings by architect John Fairweather.
It was converted by George Green in 1914 into a 2,000 seat Boswell Park Pavilion Cinema, which was demolished after World War I.
A new cinema, named the Playhouse, was built for George Green in 1923 by Fairweather with a seating capacity of 1,700, before being burnt down.
Fairweather then designed The Ayr Playhouse which stands to this day.
It opened on July 8, 1931 and with 3,104 seats was the third largest cinema to be built in Scotland. The only other cinema of this scale to survive in Scotland is Fairweather’s Edinburgh Playhouse.
The Category B heritable leisure investment is now occupied by Mecca Bingo ltd on an extended lease until 2026.
The 35,187 sq ft building sits on a site area of 0.357 acres. Its last listed annual rent stood at 166,498.
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