Phase two of the New Cumnock’s £8.2m flood protection works are due to start in the coming weeks after East Ayrshire Council appointed a main contractor, Wills Bros Civil Engineering Ltd.

The 18-month project, which is anticipated to start next month, will protect residential and commercial properties near the Afton Water and River Nith through a combination of engineering measures including 900m of earth embankments, 1200m of reinforced concrete walls and 600m of riverbank strengthening.

Prior to the main contractor being appointed, work was carried out to divert a major gas main and other utilities within the area. This will allow phase two to get underway as quickly as possible.

Advance Notices of Entry under the powers of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 have been issued by the Council’s legal section to all known landowners and occupiers who are directly affected by the works.

The Ayrshire Roads Alliance will be implementing a Temporary Road Closure on the A70 Coalhall, from its junction with the B730 Littlemill Road to allow Network Rail to carry out rail bridge repair works.

The works are due to start on Thursday 27th May 2021 and will continue until Friday 11th June 2021

To undertake these works safely and efficiently the road will be closed as follows:

Emergency access will be maintained once the portable scaffolding has been moved out of the way.

Vehicular access for residents/owners/occupiers within the closure will be permitted to and from their properties via the diversion but not through the works site.

Pedestrian access will be maintained throughout the closure period.

Alternative Route: via B730 Littlemill Rd to Drongan, B7046 to Sinclairston and Burnton and U728 to Ochiltree and vice versa.

Advance site works are currently being undertaken in preparation for a further contract planned for the summer which will involve a nominal 300m realignment of a section of the river which has eroded the riverbank.  The current works involve vegetation clearance, invasive weed suppression and localised regrading of the riverbank to prevent birds nesting.

It is not anticipated that either of the projects will require the footpath to be closed.

The Ayrshire Roads Alliance, as part of its ongoing programme to improve the condition of the road network, will be carrying out essential road resurfacing works on the B7036 and Mill Street, Ochiltree.

The works are due to start on Monday 15 March 2021 and will continue for up to 8 days.

To undertake these works safely and efficiently we will need to close the road daily from 8am until 5pm, when signed accordingly.

An alternative route will be signed via A70 towards Cumnock, A76 to Auchinleck, B7083 Mauchline Road, C62 Pennylands Road, before re-joining the B7036 at Barony Road and vice versa.

Emergency access will be maintained during the road closures and through the works site.

It is hoped that the resurfacing work will be completed within the timescales stipulated, however the work is weather dependent and any unforeseen difficulties could result in a delay.

For information regarding the bus service please contact Stagecoach customer services on 01292 613 541, Monday to Friday between 6.30am and 6.30pm.

The Ayrshire Roads Alliance, as part of it ongoing programme to improve the condition of the road network, will be carrying out essential footbridge replacement works on Waterhaughs Footbridge, Darvel

To allow these works to be carried out safely the footbridge will require to be closed for the estimated 5 week duration of the works and this will also require Lintmill road to be closed at certain times during the project.

The section of Lintmill road in front of the footbridge including the junction with Dublin Rd will be closed on Tuesday 23^rd February to allow for the removal of the existing footbridge deck. Thereafter, works to prepare the existing footbridge abutments to receive the new footbridge deck will be undertaken.

Future road closures are planned during this project and the duration of these will be kept to a minimum to cause as little disruption as possible. During crane lifting operations the footpaths in the immediate vicinity will also be closed and access to some properties will require to be taken from the rear.

Browns Road on the opposite side of the river will be kept open to pedestrians as much as possible during the works but may have to be closed periodically for short durations, subject to project requirements.

For further information contact the Ayrshire Roads Alliance on 01563 503160.

Major works are continuing at the former Mothercare site in Kilmarnock as contractor Caskie Ltd progresses with the task of demolishing the building.

The demolition works will commence on Monday 15 February 2021 and will last for approximately five weeks. These works include the demolition of the upper storey, surrounding canopy, and then the ground floor, and in order to do this in a safe way, which protects pedestrians, road users (cyclists and vehicles) and the road, one lane will be closed for four weeks.

The single lane closure will start on Sturrock Street, at the junction with Marks and Spencer, and continue round to St Marnock Street at Kilmarnock Police Station.

While this should have less of an impact given current COVID-19 restrictions, where travel is not to be undertaken unless essential, we recognise that this may disrupt your journey, and we thank you for your co-operation at this time.

The entire process of the demolition is set to last until the end of May 2021, by which time the site will be left flattened, seeded and turfed.

Work is still underway to develop ideas for the future of the site with key partners in the town centre, including Celebrate Kilmarnock, the Kilmarnock Business Association, East Ayrshire Leisure and East Ayrshire Council.

If you wish to get involved in this transformative process please contact: hello@celebratekilmarnock.com

If you have any concerns about the lane closure please contact: towncentregeneration@east-ayrshire.gov.uk

The Ayrshire Roads Alliance, as part of it ongoing programme to improve the condition of the road network, will be carrying out essential road resurfacing works on the A70, Cumnock starting on Saturday 20 February.

It is anticipated that the works will be undertaken in three phases and every effort will be made to keep within the durations proposed, however dates may need to change as works progress.

To carry out this work safely and efficiently the road will require to be closed for the duration of each phase of the works.

Motorists are advised to watch out for the Advance Notification Signage, which will be erected on site with the dates of each phased closure.

The works will start on Saturday 20 February and are due to be completed by Saturday 12 March. The road will be closed daily during Phase 1 and Phase 2 from 07:00 to 18:00. Phase 3 will carried out at night to reduce the impact on the local community.

PHASE 1 – from Saturday 20 February starting at the junction with Lugar Street (B7083) to the petrol station for approximately a week.

PHASE 2 – starting at the garage and ending at 130 Barhill Road for approximately a week.

PHASE 3 – from New Bridge Street to the Lugar Street junction.

Resident access will be maintained throughout and traffic marshals will be on hand to direct traffic safely through the works site.

Emergency access will be maintained during the road closures and through the works site. Diversions will be signed and in place for the duration of the works.

It is hoped that the resurfacing work will be completed within the timescales stipulated, however the work is weather dependent and any unforeseen difficulties could result in a delay.

Should you have any concerns regarding the works or the diversion please contact the Ayrshire Roads Alliance on 01563 503160.

While East Ayrshire remains within Covid Protection Level 4, the Multi-Storey Car Park in Kilmarnock will stay open but will close earlier than normal. It will now open 06:30 to 18:30 Monday to Saturday. 

The processing of new parking permits within South Ayrshire was placed on hold due to the Covid 19 restrictions placed upon staff. Existing permit holders have been advised to continue displaying expired permits pending the resumption of services and we have been unable to process new applications.

We are pleased to announce that as of 24/08/2020 we are now able to process applications for permit renewals or for new applications. Any permit holder whose permit has expired since March 2020 must now apply and renew before 04/09/2020 as enforcement will commence shortly thereafter.

Customers are advised to contact the SAC Customer Services Team on 0300 123 0900 or by email on customerservices@south-ayrshire.gov.uk where they will receive the relevant advice.

Amended Arrangements

In line with Government guidelines, to reduce face to face contact where possible, we have developed a new process for issuing permits. ARA Parking Officers shall contact each individual permit holder, who’s permit has expired during lockdown, to advise they must renew their permit by the 04/09/2020. They will advise the permit holder to contact the Customer Service team on 0300 123 0900. The Customer Service team will process the permit details and take any associated payment.

Type A Residents Permits (£50 / annum or £16 / quarter)

Residents who’s permits expired during lockdown were advised to continue to display the expired permit and advised we would contact them at the relevant time to take payments for new permits which would be back dated to the previous permit expiry date. In order to keep things simple we are now proposing to start all renewed permits on 01/09/20. This will effectively mean resident parking was free during lockdown. All new Type A permits will be “virtual” and there will be no need to display anything within vehicles.

Type B Residents Permits (£0.50 one off charge)

Residents are entitled to 2 permits per household and the majority of these permits are given to visitors. Therefore, Vehicle Registration Mark (VRMs) are not requested or printed on the permits. We will continue to accommodate this permit system by having paper permits hand delivered pending a proposed review / overhaul of the permit system.

Car Park Permits (Season tickets)

Due to the fact that the car parks were closed from March 20 – May 20, car park permit holders will be offered a three month extension on their new permits effectively receiving 15 months for the price of 12 and the expiry date will be calculated from the date the permit is taken out. Again, permits will be “virtual” and so new permits will need to be allocated to a specific VRM which is a departure from what has been the case previously.

Should a permit holder confirm they will not be renewing their permit due to new home working arrangements we will offer them a pro rata refund.

Prestwick Residents Permits

The vast majority of permits are not due for renewal until Sept / Oct 2020 and so there are no issues regarding the expiry or permits during lockdown. However, as it is again proposed to now issue virtual permits, and in a further departure from the previous arrangements, permits will now be allocated to individual vehicles on confirmation of VRMs.

High Street Ayr Access and Loading Permits

Applicants should contact the Customer Service team on 0300 123 0900 who will process the permit by phone. In respect of Access Permits, applicants will no longer be required to produce two forms of ID to confirm residency as the Customer Service team are able to check internal systems.  Once checked a virtual permit will be issued.

Reporting roads, lighting and drainage faults has just been made easier with the launch of a new Ayrshire Roads Alliance online portal.

The Public Information Portal is map-based which means that residents in East and South Ayrshire who want to report a fault can identify the location on the map and leave a comment about the nature of the fault. They will then be given a reference number which they can use to go back online and check the status of the fault, as it moves from being reported to being worked on, to being completed.

For ease of use, residents can also search for the fault location by address, postcode or the reference number. Anyone looking at the map can also see at a glance which faults have already been reported by looking at the icons.

The portal is only intended for reporting general faults, and any emergency faults should be reported directly to ARA by calling 0345 724 0000 for East Ayrshire Council and 0300 123 0900 for South Ayrshire Council.

Councillor Jim Roberts, Cabinet Member for Economy and Infrastructure at East Ayrshire Council, said: “We created this new portal to make it easier for residents to report roads and lighting faults and to give them a simple way to check the progress of the fault they have reported. It will help to streamline our fault handling process and we hope that our residents will find the map-based format quick and easy to use.”

Councillor Ian Cochrane, Environment Portfolio Holder for South Ayrshire Council said: “This portal is set to transform the way faults are reported, and underlines our continued investment in roads and street lighting. We rely heavily on the public when it comes to reporting faults, so the easier the process is, the better. I am sure the new portal will prove to be a success, and a huge advantage when it comes to the ongoing improvement of our roads network.”

Visit the portal at https://www.ayrshireroadsalliance.org/Faults/Faults.aspx

From 24th March 2020 as part of the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Ayrshire Roads Alliance offices within East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire are no longer open.

During this time we are focusing on winter gritting and emergency works.

Emergencies can be reported to the East Ayrshire Council Helpline on 0345 724 0000.