The support of golfers and local residents alike is being sought to try to reverse proposals by South Ayrshire Council to close two local golf courses in Ayrshire.
Many will be aware of recent reports casting doubt on the
future of the two golf courses in South Ayrshire, at Ayr Dalmilling and Maybole.
The Ayrshire Golf Association are deeply concerned about the impact that
the proposed closures will have if they go ahead, no only on the many golfers
who use both facilities but also the wider golfing community in Ayrshire and
particularly, those who utilise the other municipal courses, and is seeking to
make the wider golfing community aware of the issue and seek support to reverse
plans for these proposed closures.
AYR DALMILLING
Ayr Dalmilling is threatened by the proposals contained in
the updated Local Development Plan (LDP2), which proposes to divide the present
area of the course into three parts, with one part designated for housing, one
part for leisure & tourism and the largest part for the development of an
urban park.
The layout of the proposal can be viewed via the undernoted
link
The Association intend to submit a number of points against
the proposal, including:-
· * The golf course is one of a small number of
recreational facilities in the area of North Ayr in which it is situated, and
its loss would be detrimental to the sport and recreation facilities available
locally to the residents and visitors alike.
· * The course as existing provides a community
facility for users other than golfers, with dog walkers and other local people
regularly using the course to exercise. Contrary to quotes made by Council
leader Douglas Campbell in local press, there are a number of parks and
recreational areas within walking distance in North Ayr, such as Craigie park
and Northfield Park, which could be upgraded to provide additional facilities,
as an alternative to closing Dalmilling facility.
· * The loss of the facility would have a negative
impact on the 7 clubs who are presently attached to the course. The existence
of these clubs may be threatened by the closure of the facility, and the
displacement of the club members and other golfers from the Dalmilling course
to other local municipal courses is likely to create an excessive requirement
for tee times at peak periods, particularly at weekends, resulting in negative
interaction with other existing clubs and service users which may ultimately
lead to a financial implication for the local authority with the loss of season
ticket and visitor income due to the congestion on the remaining courses.
· * The figures quoted for usage at Ayr Dalmilling,
in common with the figures provided in relation to all other municipal courses
in South Ayrshire are inherently flawed, being based wholly on ‘audited’
figures. In simple terms, throughout the year there are times, particularly in
the evenings, when there is staff on duty to monitor the usage and ensure that
the correct revenue is being collected from users at all South Ayrshire
municipal courses, which would indicate that actual usage is far higher than
that reported. Likewise figures quoted regarding the cost per round to the
local authority for golfers playing Dalmilling are very much askew, due again to
the recorded numbers using the course being significantly less than the actual
usage.
· * There is a viewpoint that increased investment
in Dalmilling, and other local municipal courses, in the form of facilities
upgrading and full time staffing of facilities and employment of course rangers
would benefit the local authority more than closure of the facility,
encouraging increased usage from visitors to upgraded facilities and maximising
income by closer and more comprehensive monitoring of the usage of the courses.
· * The proposal appears to be at odds with the position
promoted by departments within the local Authority, particularly Golf South
Ayrshire who continually promote participation and the introduction of the
sport to youngsters, and also the tourism sector who actively promote the
municipal courses in south Ayrshire as a strong draw for visitors coming to the
area. The proposals to reduce the number of courses seems to be counter
productive to the work of these departments.
Thee are no doubt many other valid reasons against the
proposed closure, which will be raised with South Ayrshire Council through the
consultation process.
Comments can be made on the main issues document on line.
The proposals affecting Ayr Dalmilling are contained within Issue 5 a and the
link below can be used to access the on line comments form
The reasoning for the proposal, as per the document, states
“South Ayrshire has many public and private golf courses.
Some courses are used more than others. We recognise the importance of all of
the courses but think that Dalmilling could have a wider community benefit if
it became a public park with links to the River Ayr and the facilities at Dam
Park and the Craigie Estate. Because of the size of the golf course, some of
the land could also be used to build houses, a care home, and tourism/sports
facilities”
The leader of South Ayrshire Council, Douglas Campbell, has
been previously quoted as commenting
“Dalmilling is good for golf but not for the rest of the
community. The impact this has on health in Ayr North is drastic as they cannot
walk to a park. Only 4000 rounds of golf have been played at Dalmilling in the
last year”.
ALL SUBMISSIONS REGARDING THE LOCAL
DEVELOPMENT PLANS PROPOSAL (LDP2) MUST BE MADE BY 31ST JANUARY 2018.
The Ayrshire Golf Association would encourage those in the golfing
community to make comment if they have views on the proposed closure.
PETITION
In addition, one of the local club members has started a
petition on change.org regarding the proposed closure, which will eventually be
delivered to Council Leader Douglas Campbell.. Anyone wishing to sign the
petition and make comment can do so via the undernoted link.
The Ayrshire Golf Association Association would also encourage golfers and local residents
alike to engage with this petition and add any comments they feel appropriate,
to support the efforts to halt the proposed closure of the course.
PUBLIC MEETING
Ayr Dalmilling Golf Club have arranged a public meeting on
TUESDAY 23rd JANUARY AT 7.00 P.M.
Within the Railway Club, James Street, Ayr.
The meeting is open to all and all interested parties will
be welcome.
This meeting will give the golfing community and
representatives of the wider local community the opportunity to discuss and
express their opinions on the proposed closure.
Invitations to attend have also been extended to all South
Ayrshire elected councillors to attend the meeting also.
Again, it would be helpful if individual golfers, residents
and club representatives would consider attending this meeting and engaging in
the discussions. This may be particularly relevant to clubs who are attached to
the other municipal courses in South Ayrshire who will potentially be
negatively affected should the closure of Dalmilling go ahead.
MAYBOLE GOLF COURSE
Maybole golf course is also under threat of closure, as
proposed in money saving budget proposals recently released by South Ayrshire
Council.
The reasons for halting closure proposals for Maybole are
broadly similar to those of Dalmilling, including loss of recreational/sport
facility and potential negative impact on users of other municipal courses.
The circumstances of inaccurate user figures and
consequently unreliable figures regarding costs per round played again are
similar to Dalmilling, with no effective monitoring system in place at Maybole
to assess usage and ensure robust process to maximise collection of potential
income from visitors and season ticket sales.
Again, The Association would encourage clubs, golfers and
individuals to feed back to South Ayrshire Council on thee current budget
proposals, and in particular the proposed closure of Maybole golf course.
Feedback can be made on line via the South Ayrshire Council
website, via the undernoted link.
ALL FEEDBACK ON THE BUDGET, AND
PROPOSED CLOSURE OF MAYBOLE MUST BE SUBMITTED BY 11th FEBRUARY 2018.
The Ayrshire Golf Association would be grateful if individual and clubs would consider supporting our member clubs likely to be affected, and engage in
the consultation process and on line petition as outlined.
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