Kilmarnock Masterplan: have your say from 31 August

Kilmarnock residents, businesses and visitors will have six weeks to comment on proposals for the future of the town centre. The Kilmarnock Masterplan consultation opens online on Monday 31 August and closes on Sunday 11 October.

Free face-to-face engagement sessions are also planned at various venues across Kilmarnock. East Ayrshire Council has not yet specified the individual venue addresses, session times, booking arrangements, transport guidance or accessibility provisions in the supplied announcement.

The sessions will give people an opportunity to ask questions and contribute in person. Those unable to attend can respond through the online consultation during the same six-week period.

Six themes frame the town-centre proposals

The consultation centres on “The Vision for Kilmarnock Town Centre – A New Chapter”, the opening stage of a wider Masterplan intended to guide short- and long-term projects.

The vision is organised around six themes:

• Sense of place
• Climate
• Connectivity
• Vacant buildings, retail and business development
• Heritage, leisure and public realm
• Town-centre living

Together, these themes cover how Kilmarnock looks, functions and accommodates changing patterns of work, shopping, leisure and daily life. They also give participants several routes into the discussion: someone concerned about empty buildings may focus on regeneration, while another resident may be more interested in connections, public spaces or housing.

The document is a vision rather than a completed programme of works. The consultation is intended to test its priorities and gather comments before the Masterplan progresses further.

A fresh plan for a town shaped by the 1960s

Kilmarnock’s previous Masterplan was designed by Percy Johnson-Marshall. Although that plan was not fully realised, East Ayrshire Council says it helped shape the town that exists today.

The new process comes more than half a century after the last major redevelopment of the town centre. The council’s case for revisiting the plan rests on changes in working habits and how people now use town centres, creating different demands for retail, business premises, homes, leisure areas and public space.

Masterplanning brings residents, businesses, community groups, organisations and potential investors into a shared process for examining what already exists and what could be developed. The current vision follows partnership work and earlier consultation involving people who live in, work in and visit Kilmarnock town centre.

East Ayrshire Council has earmarked approximately £100 million over the proposed Masterplan’s lifetime. Council leader Douglas Reid said private and other external investment would also be needed to deliver the wider ambition.

How to contribute before 11 October

Anyone with an interest in Kilmarnock can take part; the stated audience includes residents, businesses and visitors. The online consultation will remain open from 31 August through 11 October, while the planned in-person sessions will provide another way to comment and ask questions.

Participants can use the six themes to identify which parts of the vision affect them most and respond to the proposed short- and long-term priorities. The council says every contribution will be read and considered as work on the Masterplan continues.

East Ayrshire Council’s original announcement provides access to the Masterplan vision document and the related council report. It also offers an option to sign up for updates, where further practical details about the face-to-face sessions can be published.

Source: East Ayrshire Council News