Ayr - A High Street in Decline?

As part of our week of special coverage on Scotland's towns and places, CommonSpace visited Ayr to speak to people about the impact of the closures of Hourstons department store and the Station Hotel, among others.

[@Kal-ir9ze]

A town with such historical interest should have so so much investment in it had it been in Essex Kent Devon or anywhere in leafy south. The town has so much going for it if all give it a chance. Miles of golden beaches. Bars and pubs. So many shows including the Agricultural Shoe. Ayr Air Show. Burns fest and many many more. I regularly take a day out in Ayr for a wander a note and a night. Always a joy. A few more shops would be good but this won’t come if the plave is put down. Invest and take a trip from the city

[@gaelmeney8658]

It's a shame how Ayr is now.Im from North Ayrshire but when spent my school years in Ayr and it was a great shopping town.Its the same here in North Ayrshire with loads of empty shops.

[@cammy633]

Why was Dumfries station hotel shown at 1:05?

[@knockshinnoch1950]

Our culture is undergoing a paradigm shift. The advent of the internet has seen a massive shift in how we shop and interact with each other. The 21st century is beginning to take its own unique shape- history is rhyming. 100 yrs ago at the end of WW1 society underwent a similar massive shift- the 20th century as we know it took its shape. Motor cars began to replace horse drawn traffic and the entire infrastructure that supported it- blacksmiths, stables, feed etc. The high street changed with new stores selling electrical consumer goods, hairdressers etc- revolutionary new business opportunities for the new century. The 1918/19 flu pandemic changed habits too. FFW 100 yrs and we are at a similar inflection point. Change is constant but times like this do happen once in a century. The "traditional" high street needs to reinvent itself- shrink in size- adapt. There is no point trying to halt progress. We need to find creative solutions. Too many empty stores/shops- why not convert to small homes and flats- breathe life into the centre of town. Find new purpose for the shops- bring the GP surgery/health and local services into town. Create community meeting spaces, kids play areas, local arts, music performance spaces. Delivery/Drop off spaces

[@dociledeer3818]

You made some really good points. I was in Ayr last week and was thinking the same re-empty stores and making the town centre more residential and making it a great place to live. I was interested in your comment "The 1918/19 flu pandemic changed habits too." I'd be grateful if you would expand a wee bit.

[@knockshinnoch1950]

@@dociledeer3818 Hi, things changed with regards to habits of personal hygiene and improvements in health care as a result of the Pandemic and of course the Great War. The shift from horse drawn transport to petrol engines really took off from this point with many traditional jobs dying out such as grooms, stable boys, blacksmiths etc. New types of shops appeared such as hairdressers, women began to shave their body hair as fashions changed. Sun tans became popular among the rich whereas previously a lily white complexion was the epitome of beauty (only folks who worked outdoors in the fields had suntans!) New industries began to boom- radio became a mainstream form of communication with the BBC established in 1922. Hollywood really began to move into the golden age with dedicated cinema chains opening new picture houses across the country. Fewer folks worked "in service" in the Stately Homes many moving into manufacturing and factories. The electricity revolution continued with the growing number of homes and businesses connected. New gadgets were required, radio sets etc.

[@dociledeer3818]

@@knockshinnoch1950 Thank you very much, very interesting. My Grandfather was born in 1916 (lived till he was 97) and must have been lad about ten years old when this new thing called "the wireless" was first brought into his home. Before that the only music must of been from a piano, if they ever had one.

[@knockshinnoch1950]

@@dociledeer3818 Its amazing to think that it's not so long ago our grandparents had no hot running water or inside loo or central heating. Big families living in just 2 rooms sharing an outside toilet with 4 or 5 other families. It's unlikely they would've had a piano as they were for the wealthy middle and upper classes, most families made their music with the spoons and a fiddle.

[@CeeJayDee94]

4:38 What's Richard Dawkins' brother doing in Ayr?

[@Jomac87]

Hourstons was full of snooty staff who looked down their nose at certain people and the prices were extortionate so so don't hit me with this rubbish, "oh they came in for a chat". Anytime I walked in Houston's I had eight sets is eyes on me as if to say "eh primarks the other way" and guess what shop is opening new stores. You have to be able to compete with online. A normal Yankee candle, large, would cost you maybe £22 online at the maximum, Houtstons would expect you to pay £30. They took advantage of older ones who didnae have a clue they were getting ripped off. Glad it's gone. The only reason I went in was to use their toilet, I was just always flabbergasted by their prices. Good riddance. Maybe talk to people who shopped in Houston's not ex staff who are going to defend there exorbitant prices!!

[@requiscatinpace7392]

You should have worn your bestest trackie!!

[@fozziebumble8361]

Oh and what would be a start to help Ayr out would be to clear out the thousands of Junkies begging and screaming at the top of their lungs from the top of the town to the bottom of it .

[@nathan1459]

Send them to Troon?

[@fozziebumble8361]

@@nathan1459 I think troon has their own junkies they seem to be everywhere

[@bv3bv334]

Rid the town of Neds. A Ned Free area. Like it. Got to pass an intelligence test to be allowed a residents permit.

[@fozziebumble8361]

The trouble with Ayr is that 90% of the council that control it dont actually live in Ayr they live in troon.

[@Ian-ij4of]

Ayr is full of closed down shops, the council should be ashamed of themselves for allowing Ayr to fall into disrepair, the old hotel built in 1885 needs to be demolished...not covered in white materials...the council seem to be doing very little not that many of them, ..if any actually live there...Ayr is looking run down and dilapidated...

[@revengenerd1]

I lived in Ayr on and off for 6 out of 10 years before moving to Glasgow area for work in 2014, When I first moved there it wasn't as nice as my childhood in the 90's but still had a good town centre, then the Sandgate end just literally rotted away, I stayed in 2 flats there and they were rotting due to dodgy landlords, the shops in same streets started getting boarded up, the problem is like in many towns, the local council wants extortionate rents and rates so businesses either go bankrupt or just move out of town to units.

[@barbara1904]

When investors want planning to tweak buildings, the councils need to remember that they expect a certain profit margin. Otherwise they won’t invest. So maybe planning needs to be more flexible.

[@davidbrown5628]

I think it is austerity created by Ayr itself.....

[@pansypotter4]

Ayr has nothing to offer visitors and holiday makers, there is no improvement or development down the beach. You just have to look at other seaside towns who have modernised and provided entertainment. They allowed the building of those ugly flats down the front, which are probably lovely inside with great views, but people don't come to Ayr for the day or the weekend or the week to sit and look at flats! Lovely cafes and restaurants should have been built there and the low green should be developed so that people have something to do rain or shine. The pool could have been extended and turned into somewhere to go on a rainy day which we get plenty of.

[@alexispiper8614]

The problem with Ayr is that the council hate the town. The money is spent on Prestwick and Troon. You have to ask why and what is the hidden agenda and wonder just WHO is behind it.

[@requiscatinpace7392]

South Ayrshire Council need investigated!!!