A vacant retail unit in Ayr town centre is set to become a studio flat after plans were approved by South Ayrshire Council.
The property at 19A Carrick Street had been on the market for 18 months without selling as a business space. Red River Town Limited applied in June to change its use from retail to residential and make alterations to the front of the building.
What will change at 19A Carrick Street?
The approved scheme will create a ground-floor studio apartment suitable for one or two people. The living and bedroom area will be combined in the studio, while the rear of the property will contain a kitchen, WC and shower room.
External work will include installing two double-glazed sash-and-case windows on the front elevation. The existing single enlarged shopfront window will be partly blocked up, with an additional window also formed.
Access to the new flat will be through the communal entrance passageway. The building is within the Ayr Central Outstanding Conservation Area, meaning the alterations form part of a wider planning and heritage context in the town centre.
Reason for the change of use
Documents submitted with the application said the owners had been unable to let the premises as a retail unit and wanted to address the prolonged vacancy.
“The owners have tried to let this unit as a retail unit over the past 18 months with no success and have therefore decided to change the use of this unit to alleviate the prolonged vacant building which creates an undesirable look to the town centre.”
The application documents said the unit was last used as a general retail space. They described the proposed accommodation as an additional studio flat intended for long-term rental, helping increase the availability of homes in Ayr town centre.
The applicants also argued that bringing someone to live in the property would support a town centre with a mix of uses, rather than leaving the unit vacant.
Council view on the proposal
South Ayrshire Council planning officers approved the application, stating that reusing the long-term vacant unit could support the regeneration, vitality and environmental quality of Ayr town centre.
“Bringing a long-term vacant unit back into productive use has the potential to contribute positively to the ongoing regeneration, vitality, and environmental quality of Ayr town centre.”
Officers noted that the upper floor of the building already contains a flat. They concluded that using the ground floor for residential purposes represented an efficient and appropriate way to reuse the existing building.
The approval means the former retail unit can now be adapted into a town-centre home, with the stated aim of providing long-term rental accommodation and helping create a more sustainable mix of uses in central Ayr.
