March 20 2019

South Ayrshire Council has opened a consultation into the fate of three tower blocks at Riverside Place, Ayr with all options on the table ranging from a full refurbishment to a complete rebuild.

Over 200 tenants have been presented with three future options ranging from a temporary decant while upgrades are carried out to a permanent move to new accommodation to allow demolition. A third option would see tenants temporarily rehoused with some being invited to return to a reduced amount of new build accommodation on the same site.

Councillor Philip Saxton commented: “We are committed to ensuring that our tenants are fully involved in the discussions about the future of their flats, which is why we’re taking such a detailed approach to this consultation.
 
“It’s vital that tenants understand all the facts so they can form their own views about the option that is best for them.”

Councilors will decide on the best course of action in June with North Ayrshire is currently progressing its own tower block renewal programme.
 

2 Comments

#1 Posted by juan de los angeles on 20 Mar 2019 at 11:49 AM

Hopefully SAC will come to their senses and obliterate these monstrosities; they are a failed typology that scar our towns up and down the country. Just ensure the good folks that inhabit are housed more humanely.

#2 Posted by Iain Duerr on 20 Mar 2019 at 13:15 PM

I would suspect that the accommodation within these blocks is more than humane, in fact, I wouldn't mind having a riverside pad in one of those myself! The idea that these types of blocks must all be demolished is a tired and outdated notion based almost entirely on subjective notions of aesthetics. They no more scar towns than any other type of building and I've yet to hear an objective reason for them doing so.

The inhabitants of two tower blocks in Saltcoats recently chose to keep their homes as did residents of countless other blocks up and down the country. What happens to these three remains to be seen.

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