Locals in Ayr rally round to save the 'most demolished town' in Scotland from further damage

Designed in the French Renaissance style with delightful features that echo Loire Valley chateaux, its public rooms were particularly impressive: elaborate corniced ceilings, large marble fireplaces, oak panels and ceiling to floor drapes all designed to leave a lasting impression on its guests.

One of the town’s finest buildings, Ayr Station Hotel – opened in 1886 and intended to emulate the success of Scotland’s other famed railway hotels – it is now hidden from view beneath a tight cover, said by South Ayrshire Council to present “a clear and significant risk” to people and property around it.

For visitors arriving this weekend on a long-awaited day trip to Ayr, the sight of the architectural gem encased in plastic may well leave them wondering how it has ended up in such a sad state, apparently on its last legs.

While suggestions that it may be razed to the ground to make way for a glossy transport hub incorporating bus station and new railway station with shops and restaurants, have left some locals seething at the potential destruction of a building which oozes precisely the kind of character lost in many other towns in the name of progress.

According to some, the rather rapid demise of the B-Listed building – in use until just a few years ago - is not the only blight on the face of the much-loved Auld Toon.

Heritage campaign group, SAVE Britain’s Heritage, claims Ayr is becoming a “wasteland of demolition sites”, with the hotel just the latest in a series of buildings to face being turned into rubble.

“Ayr is at a crossroads,” according to Marcus Binney, executive chairman of campaign group SAVE Britain’s Heritage, which played a key role in saving Dumfries House near Ayr, now part of The Prince’s Foundation.

“The town is one of the most attractive coastal resorts in Scotland, brimming with impressive civic landmarks and streets of attractive houses. “All over Britain resort towns are on the way up, but not Ayr.

“The town must make more of its heritage”.

The organisation points to a large area along the river, High Street Riverside, which has been bulldozed and which it says is now a “blight on the town following a dispute over plans for redevelopment.”

While another large vacant site is being created by the demolition of the unloved 1970s Burns House. The £1.3 million task of demolishing has started and while few will regret its loss, its location - a stone’s throw from the Ayr Station Hotel – means it presents a less than attractive welcome to the town for visitors.

Meanwhile, the town has racked up a list of old buildings packed with character and charm in such a precarious state that they have been added to the nation’s Building’s At Risk register, amid concerns that they are tottering on the brink of being lost forever. Even the harbour area, which some say could have easily been developed to lure tourists to the town, has instead become what one describes as a “no go zone at night” where there could have been restaurants, bars and other attractions.

With all that at play, perhaps it’s no shock that travel website Lonely Planet describes Ayr as having “struggled in recent years” with parts of the centre having “a neglected air”.

None of which is helped by the plethora of empty shops dotted around the town centre, and the difficult task facing many local authorities: how to regenerate their town’s dying heart without throwing a hand grenade into much-loved built heritage.

Amid it all stands Ayr Station Hotel and the Victorian railway platform, symbolising a town in the grip of a redevelopment crisis, and divisions between authorities who want to drive it forward for a modern age, and those anxious to retain its unique character and built heritage.

The hotel, which occupies most of the building, is privately owned by a Malaysian businessman Dato Eng Huat Ung, while the ground floor of the north wing, which houses the station’s ticket office and facilities, is owned by Network Rail.

However, having taken over the hotel and invested money on some external repairs, work halted and in March 2018 a Dangerous Building Notice was served leading to it being encased in its protective shroud.

A feasibility study commissioned by South Ayrshire Council favours partial or full demolition of the building and the creation of a new station with space for retail units.

Now with fears growing over the building’s future, Ayr Station Hotel and Burns Statue Square Community Action Group has taken the unusual step of revealing plans to take over the B-listed railway station element of the building from Network Rail, amid claims it has allowed it to deteriorate to an unacceptable level and abandoned it by moving into temporary accommodation.

Using community right to buy rules, the group says it plans to upgrade the existing station and build new facilities – work they claim should have been done a quarter of a century ago.

There are also suggestions it may go even further and attempt a bold takeover of the entire hotel.

David Ramsay, the community group’s chair, says demolishing the hotel would be “preposterous to say the least”.

“The council has convinced themselves it’s a good idea to spend £50 million creating a white elephant transport hub that is further from the train station than the current bus stops,” he adds.

“And Network Rail want to do what they’ve done at Queen Street, Waverley and Haymarket – create a shopping centre.

“But this is one of the finest buildings in town.”

He claims the protective shroud covering the building may be causing more damage by sealing moisture inside while racking up unnecessary costs for the building’s owner.

“The hotel’s owner is being made to be the bad guy, but he is the last person to actually spent money trying to maintain the building,” he adds.

“I believe there are people in the council who have wanted this building to be demolished for a long time.

“It’s clear the council doesn’t care about the town - Ayr is crumbling brick by brick.

“You couldn’t screw up Ayr any more than what they have done.”

Rob Close, author of a number of architectural guides to Scottish built heritage, says: “When originally built, Ayr’s civic leaders recognised what this landmark building could do for Ayr; how it demonstrated Ayr’s rightful high regard for itself, and how it portrayed Ayr as a town of vision and enterprise.

“Woodrow Wilson, the American President, stayed here; Robert Lorimer’s magnificent GSWR War Memorial adorns Platform 3. The loss of the Station Hotel would be a major blow to Britain’s railway heritage, and has to be seen in a national context, as well as in the local context.”

Network Rail says: “We are liaising closely with the local authority and other partners to seek a long-term resolution to the building’s condition. The hotel building is owned by an overseas-based businessman and is not in the railway’s ownership.”

Meanwhile, South Ayrshire Council says the town is not unlike others across Scotland facing tough decisions in the wake of changing consumer habits.

“Retail in Ayr is struggling in common with most towns in Scotland, this is a direct result of changing shopping habits exacerbated by the pandemic,” says a council spokesperson.

“We are looking to reinvigorate Ayr High Street by focusing on culture, heritage, leisure and recreation.

“We want to encourage people back into the heart of Ayr Town Centre and we believe that modern leisure facilities in the high street, regular live events and attractive places to socialise and relax will help sustain a thriving town centre for years to come.

“Projects such as the new leisure centre, new public and community spaces as well a new archive centre and community arts facility, mean it's an exciting time to be involved in the transformation of Ayr High Street.”