Local archive
Business & Openings
Flirtatious Fiction in Ayr has introduced dyslexia-friendly editions and coloured overlays, aiming to make popular romance titles easier and more comfortable for readers to follow.
Community
Nominations have opened for the South Ayrshire Youth Awards, which celebrate people aged 11 to 25 who support their communities, overcome challenges or inspire others. Entries close at 5pm on Friday, September 18, with the ceremony due to take place at Ayr Town Hall on Tuesday, November 10.
Business & Openings
Ayrshire Housing’s Financial Wellbeing Team supported 318 households across Ayrshire last year, helping tenants access more than £1.3 million in benefits and other financial support.
Community
Trawler skipper Donald Gibson has raised £15,315 for the Beatson Cancer Charity after completing a 56-mile cycling challenge in memory of his wife, Mhairi, a much-loved Troon primary school music teacher who died from pancreatic cancer.
Traffic & Construction Fort
A recently upgraded detached house on Doonville Place is being marketed by Martin & Co in Ayr, with four upstairs bedrooms, two en suites, a renovated rear garden and a location within the catchment area for Alloway Primary School.
Crime & Public Safety
Ayrshire Weekly Press titles reported a series of cases heard at Ayr and Kilmarnock sheriff courts and the High Court in Glasgow, including a gunpoint car-sale robbery, a major heroin seizure linked to an overdose and several serious assaults.
Culture
Astoria Cinema in Ayr will show Disney’s Moana in a relaxed autism-friendly screening on Sunday, September 13, with reduced sound, no adverts or trailers and freedom for audience members to move around.
Community Alloway
Levi Charlton, 53, from Irvine, has completed the Snowdonia 100-mile race while raising money for Whiteleys Retreat, the children’s charity based near Ayr. His fundraising total stands at £1,630, rising to £2,130 with matched funds, against a target of £2,500.
Education
The Ayr Advertiser has revisited photographs and stories from South Ayrshire in September 2006, including school leaders, an Ayr Hospital family fun day, young sporting success and visits to local primary schools.
Crime & Public Safety Fort
Police Scotland Ayrshire said more than 30 missing children were reunited with parents and carers during the two-day International Ayr Show, with youth and adult volunteers helping visitors and returning lost property.
Crime & Public Safety
Allen McKillop has been convicted at the High Court in Kilmarnock over an attack with a baseball bat at a property in Stonecrop Place, Ayr. The jury heard he repeatedly struck the victim on the head and body, causing severe injury, permanent disfigurement, permanent impairment and danger to life. Sentencing has been adjourned until next month.
Traffic & Construction Fort
A disused atrium at Ayr Railway Station could be brought back into use under Network Rail plans submitted to South Ayrshire Council. The proposed work would improve passenger movement, restore historic features and add seating, vending machines and new information screens, although no date has been set for wider regeneration of the station complex.
Culture
A practical creative workshop exploring Greek mythology, Tarot symbolism and painting will be held at Narture Studios in Ayr on Saturday 19 September 2026.
Culture
A monthly sketchbook gathering will take place at 10 CREATE in Ayr on Tuesday 15 September 2026, with drawing, painting, collage, writing and optional conversation on the programme.
Traffic & Construction Fort
Planning for the 2027 International Ayr Show Festival of Flight on Ayr Low Green has already started, with organisers reviewing feedback from visitors, communities and traders after this year’s event.
Traffic & Construction Fort
South Ayrshire councillors have approved a £16 million transformation of Burns Statue Square, with work scheduled to begin in January 2027 and finish by March 31, 2028. The scheme will replace the existing traffic island with a public space linking Ayr railway station and the town centre, while changing roads, parking and bus access.
Crime & Public Safety Fort
A 36-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman have been charged with alleged shoplifting and road traffic offences after being arrested on Whitletts Road in Ayr.
Sport Craigie
Ayr United will host Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Somerset Park on Saturday, September 12, as both clubs search for a first league win since their respective recent milestones. Ticket prices have been confirmed, while Ayr’s October meeting with Partick Thistle has been moved for BBC Scotland coverage.
Culture Fort
Young people from South Ayrshire have been introduced to aviation and aerospace career opportunities at the first evening of a new careers event held after the International Ayr Show.
Community
Riverside Community Trust will show all eight episodes of The Chosen free of charge at Riverside Church on John Street, with screenings open to everyone from Wednesday, September 16.
Community
A 12-hour crochet challenge at The Crafty Coo in Ayr raised £650 for Ayrshire Hospice after three team members made 119 flowers in the shop window at 72 Sandgate.
Education
Ayrshire College recorded a £1million deficit in 2024/25, an increase of £664,000 on the previous year, according to a new Audit Scotland report. The college says the shortfall reflects investment, workforce development and historic borrowing linked to its Kilmarnock Campus.
Community Fort
Michelle Howie, Ms Great Britain Ayrshire, joined huge crowds at the International Ayr Show, where she met Armed Forces members, visited the Red Arrows and praised the event’s community spirit.
Sport
South Ayrshire councillors have unanimously supported an application to create a formal friendship agreement between Ayr and Providence, Rhode Island, following connections formed by Scotland supporters during the FIFA 2026 World Cup.
Business & Openings
Dobbies Garden Centre in Ayr has expanded its offer at the Old Toll site with a new hobbies area, dedicated pet shop and Edinburgh Woollen Mill clothing brand.
Community
The family of 35-year-old Ayr father John Robertson has launched a fundraising appeal to help him access private cancer treatment and find options that could give him more time with his wife and three children.
Crime & Public Safety Fort
Mark Craig was sentenced at Ayr Sheriff Court after repeatedly blocking abnormal-load convoys in Ayrshire, throwing a traffic cone and shining a torch at drivers.
Business & Openings
Dobbies Garden Centre in Ayr has broadened its retail offer with hobby supplies, a dedicated pet shop and an Edinburgh Woollen Mill clothing range, while its restaurant has introduced an autumn menu.
Community
The family of Ayr dad-of-three John Robertson has raised £4,679.77 towards private cancer treatment, while continuing to seek NHS care transfer and further fundraising support.
Traffic & Construction Craigie
Ayr Racecourse will host a Winter Fair on Saturday 14 November 2026, with more than 100 stalls, live entertainment, Santa, family activities and fundraising opportunities.
