East Ayrshire Council has announced a Public Engagement Event on Saturday 28 October.

The event will reveal "ambitious new ideas for the transformation of Kilmarnock Town Centre".

On display in the Citizens Advice Bureau, Foregate, Kilmarnock will be proposals for the future of four key areas: The Foregate, Sandbed Street, the main shopping area and the John Finnie Street Embankment.

The Council said that they are "really keen to get everyone's input", with a chance to vote on what you see as high, medium or low priority for future actions.

Running from 2.00pm – 4.30pm the event will be manned by the Council's planning team and TGP landscape architects, who will be futher developing any ideas which come to the fore, and who will be on hand to explain and discuss the proposals, illustrated by an exhibition with concept drawings.

The new proposals for improvements to Kilmarnock Bus Station will also be on show, with representatives from Ayrshire Roads Alliance and architects smithfindlay there to answer any questions.

Council Leader, Douglas Reid said: "We're all very excited about these proposals, and of course we're keen to get the public's opinions on them. This is basically a wish list of actions and improvements, and we want to be able to prioritise them to make the biggest possible difference to the town centre in years to come. So we're calling on everyone to come along, view the plans and talk to us, then vote on what they think is most important for the town.


"We'll also be holding a separate consultation event with local businesses. Partnership working is part of our Council DNA, so we're keen to hear the priorities of retailers and businesses priorities and listen to what they have to say so we can plan and work efficiently with them for the future.

"We've made great strides in recent years with the regeneration of our historic buildings, the improvement of street lighting, surfaces and furniture, the advent of regular town centre events and projects at the railway station. We're now ready to address the next phase of the renovation of our town centre."

The new plans will be available to view online and open for public comment from 28 until 22 November.

The Bus Station

The proposals for the bus station identify a range of upgrades which will deliver improvements in environmental quality, information provision and accessibility which also enhance a sense of safety, all in order to create a modern bus station which is regarded as an attractive gateway into the town centre.

The proposals include improvements to the pedestrian access routes and the addition of defined landscaped areas with improved lighting strategies to create a welcoming approach to the station. The existing fabric will be adapted and re-dressed using a fresh and neutral pallet of hard wearing materials to achieve a modern, clean aesthetic.

Internally, waiting areas and circulation routes will be defined within an enclosed glass envelope using a glazed curtain walling system. We believe that these ambitious proposals will revitalise the station to better serve the local and wider community.

(MH)