Soliloquy with broom.  Site clearance in progress on 18th May 2010. This view shows the stage door entrance to the site. 

View of the partially cleared site from the Inner Ring Road.  ©MBailey

View from Ayr College.  ©MBailey

View from the Fire Station Roundabout.  ©MBailey

Cleared site viewed from Craigie Road.  ©MBailey

ReigArt Performance or an Act of Vandalism? ~ May 2010

Ayr Civic Theatre was destroyed by South Ayrshire Council's chosen contractors in May 2010 and the site has been cleared.  The future use of the site is uncertain.  The following texts explain some of the background to this happening.

REPORT BY DEPUTE CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENT (SOUTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL) TO THE COUNCIL MEETING OF 17th DECEMBER, 2009

SUBJECT: Proposed Demolition of Former Civic Theatre, Ayr

1. Purpose.

1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek the funding necessary for the demolition of the former Civic Theatre in Ayr in accordance with the approved recommendation contained in the Council’s Interim Property Asset Management Plan.

2. Recommendation.

2.1 That the Council agrees to fund the demolition of the former Civic Theatre in the current Financial Year, with revenue funding from the Change Fund.

3. Background.

3.1 Section 3.10 on page 13 of the approved Interim Property Asset Management Plan recommended that a number of existing Council properties be demolished, including the former Civic Theatre in Ayr.

3.2 Properties being recommended for demolition are currently unused and are in poor condition.

4. Considerations

4.1 Should the Council be minded to approve the demolition of these properties the work will be able to be carried out on site during the first quarter of 2010 and, where necessary, the appropriate statutory permissions are in place.

5. Resource Implications.

5.1 Following competitive tendering exercises the cost of demolishing the Civic Theatre has been determined at £101,467 [plus] professional fees and other overheads.

5.2 The Civic Theatre site may be required at a future date in whole, or in part, to extend the roundabout at this location, or alternatively, outline proposals have been prepared for the
construction of houses on the site.

6. Results of Public Consultation.

6.1 There has been no public consultation on this report.

(This is an edited version of the report)

Civic Theatre demolition is needless, says councillor

BULLDOZING the Civic Theatre is an expensive waste of money.  That’s the view of one councillor, who reckons his colleagues have made a costly blunder.

Labour’s Phil Saxton, who made a last ditch bid to save the historic theatre, is upset at the £100,000 demolition.  Mr Saxton’s motion to postpone the decision was roundly voted down at a full meeting of South Ayrshire Council. And now the theatre will be bulldozed in 2010 – without any concrete plan for the land.

Mr Saxton insisted: “We can’t just knock down buildings for the sake of it.  The council wants to save money – then it agrees to spend £100,000 demolishing a building with no use for the land.  If there isn’t a plan for the site, why can’t we sell the building at no cost to the council?”

The land is likely to be used for an extended roundabout to help with access to Craigie’s new university campus.But no decision has been made and a further £18,000 will be spent on landscaping the site before anything happens. 

That has further angered Mr Saxton and fellow defenders of the Civic cause.  He said: “If money is tight then let’s take decisions based purely on the facts.  We can’t go about demolishing buildings without fully exploring the options available to us.  In this instance, we could have held off or at least sold the building to an outside purchaser for future use.”

Mr Saxton’s words follow the meeting which saw some councillors speak of their “delight” at the demolition.

(From the Ayrshire Post, 1st January 2010)

All photographs 18th May 2010 ©MBailey

The cleared site in November 2010. Photograph ©Mike Bailey

Top