A new bus shelter could be built on Dunure Road outside Craig Tara Holiday Park near Ayr, giving staff and winter visitors a safer and more practical place to wait for buses.
Bourne Leisure Limited, which operates the site as Haven Holidays, has lodged plans with South Ayrshire Council for a bus stop and associated works on the eastbound side of the road. The application can be viewed on the council’s planning portal under reference 26/00513/APP.
Why the shelter has been proposed
Craig Tara already has a bus stop within the holiday park, close to the main facilities building. It is served by Stagecoach Service 97, but that route operates only from early March until late October and does not run during the winter months.
Stagecoach Service 361 runs all year along Dunure Road, but it does not enter the park. At Craig Tara, the service operates on a hail-and-ride basis, with the closest formal stop near Heads of Ayr Farm.
That stop is around 0.8km from the main facilities building, where most Haven team members enter and leave the park. Planning documents say staff currently have to wait at the hail-and-ride point without shelter or lighting, or walk along Dunure Road to the existing shelter using a pavement with no streetlamps.
The proposed facility would be closer to the park entrance. It is intended to improve access for guests from November to mid-January and for staff from November to the end of February, covering the months when the park’s existing bus service is unavailable.
Solar lighting and bus service plans
The shelter would include a solar light unit. The design would use two solar panels mounted on a solid roof sheet, with a tray in the roof space containing an LED light array, batteries and control equipment.
Haven management has spoken to Stagecoach about the possibility of extending bus access into the park throughout the year. However, the planning documents state that this is not currently an option.
A recent staff survey found that 95 per cent of the park’s employees live within 20 miles of Craig Tara, with most travelling towards Ayr town centre. The eastbound location has therefore been chosen to serve journeys from the holiday park towards Ayr and beyond, particularly for staff returning home.
The westbound stop would generally be used by people travelling into the holiday park, so the plans say a separate shelter is not needed on that side. Westbound passengers could wait in the eastbound shelter until their bus is due if required.
