New Ayr Leisure Centre consultation

During the 2018 'Ayr Your Views' consultation, just under half of all respondents said they never use the Citadel Leisure Centre and the reasons for this varied. Some felt the facilities were tired, old fashioned and in poor condition. Others felt it was too remote, out of the way, not on bus routes and not pleasant to walk to. The majority of those surveyed felt the Citadel should be replaced with a more modern facility and if it were to move closer to the town centre then a third of respondents would use it more often than they do now.

Recognising the age and condition of the Citadel Leisure Centre, and the public views on the matter, the council is now keen to replace it with a new leisure facility closer to the town centre. Developers are planning to create a new cinema and food and beverage outlets at the Kyle Centre and there is an opportunity for the new leisure centre to link up with this development creating a strong leisure and entertainment hub in the centre of town that is easily accessible by public transport, on foot and by car. These changes could not only help to improve the town centre but help us to get fit for our future.

Early proposals have been developed for a new facility, in a new, town-centre location. This consultation was the first opportunity for the community to feedback on these early proposals and also highlight what could be included in the new leisure centre. Considering existing Covid-19 restrictions, the consultation took the form of a digital survey.

The digital survey 'Ayr Leisure Centre - Tell us what you think' was launched on Monday 22 March and ran for 8 weeks until Friday 14 May 2021. The consultation identified some ideas for each of the key spaces in the new leisure centre and asked for public opinion on each - sketches were also included to better convey how some of the areas could look.

Responses received

The report below provides an overview of the 2601 survey responses received

Ayr Leisure Centre Consultation report (PDF) [4MB]

What happens next?

There will be another opportunity for you to comment on the design before a Planning Application is submitted later in this year - further details will be posted here and on South Ayrshire Council social media outlets.

Thank you for taking part.