Moves to make progress on the future of a site that was to be Ayr’s new leisure centre is set to be confined to Hourstons for the time being.
But the move will also be used to ‘inform’ the council’s ‘Ayr Town Centre Strategy’ as well.
This, the council says, will ‘reflect the administration’s aspirations for Ayr Town Centre’.
South Ayrshire Council’s cabinet will consider a proposal to spend £150,000 on a feasibility study. However, this will be limited to the property owned outright by the council, i.e. Hourstons.
The controversial plans for a new Ayr Leisure Centre were finally scrapped in December when a rejigged plan that would have seen the centre reduced in size to meet the allocated £46m budget was rejected by the council.
At an earlier meeting in October, the council had agreed to undertake a feasibility study that would look at a mixed use development at the Arran Mall and Hourstons.
However, issues remain in terms of the purchase of the Arran Mall, which has been bogged down by legal matters.
It was also revealed last month that the £20m bid to the UK Government’s levelling up fund to support leisure in the town had not been successful.
It is understood that no changes were made from the bid developed by the previous administration when it was submitted last summer.
The report to the cabinet states: “They also agreed to undertake a feasibility study for a mixed-use development of the Arran Mall and Hourstons and report back to Cabinet for consideration and instructions.
“Given the recent announcement by the UK Government that the council’s bid for money from the UK Levelling Up Fund was unsuccessful, and that discussions regarding the purchase of the Arran Mall are ongoing, it is proposed to limit the feasibility study to the properties that the council already owns, i.e. the former Hourstons site.
“To facilitate the feasibility study, there is a requirement to appoint a design team to undertake the required roles.
“It is also proposed that the remit of this exercise is extended to include an exercise to update the Ayr Town Centre Strategy and Action Plan to reflect the Administration’s aspirations for Ayr Town Centre.”
The cost of Strategic Support Services will be capped at a maximum of £150,000.
This would be funded from an allocation from the residual leisure centre budget.
The Cabinet will consider the plans on Wednesday.
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