A Prosperous South Ayrshire
In the spring of 2005, we asked people in South Ayrshire what were the key economic issues for the area. They told us that improving employment and tackling poverty were among their most important concerns.Because of this, we have set ourselves the goal of improving access to a range of quality jobs and services. Working together with those who live and work in South Ayrshire we want to improve the area’s wealth and to build neighbourhoods where people can have a decent quality of life. In particular, we are concerned with reducing unemployment in the worst affected areas. What needs to be done to improve things? We need to boost economic activity in South Ayrshire if we are to catch up with the rest of the UK. While the value of the goods and services produced in South Ayrshire has been increasing at a faster rate than in the UK as a whole, the wealth which this produces for each person living in South Ayrshire is only 93% of the UK average. We also need to make sure that the wealth of South Ayrshire is more evenly shared among people who live here. We know that 15,000 people in South Ayrshire have low incomes, and around 9,000 live in overcrowded housing. We want to work together as a Partnership to tackle these inequalities.
So we believe that the big issues for the Partnership as regards the social and economic development of South Ayrshire are:- To increase the general level of household incomes in the area - To tackle disadvantage and improve the quality of life in the poorer neighbourhoods
How will we go about tackling these issues?We want to broaden the range of economic activities in South Ayrshire. If too many people in the area depend on a particular type of job, they will all suffer if there is a downturn in that area of work. In the past, many people in South Ayrshire worked in manufacturing companies, but there has been a decline in manufacturing in the whole of Europe and we cannot rely on this as the way forward for South Ayrshire. Instead, we want to concentrate on building support services for the types of businesses that are now growing, such as finance firms, computing and retailing. We also want to build on South Ayrshire’s connection with golf, Robert Burns and other important historical figures to develop a stronger tourist industry. We recognise that Glasgow Prestwick International Airport is crucial to all of these developments. However, we also accept that economic growth is not happening evenly across the whole of South Ayrshire. For example, we know that there is a narrower range of jobs in rural areas and that most people are still working in traditional industries like farming and small-scale manufacturing. We also know that South Ayrshire includes a number of areas where people do not have ready access to jobs. We have made such areas a particular focus of our efforts through a special part of our Community Plan, which is called the “Regeneration Outcome Agreement”. In this we have identified six communities that are in need of special assistance to improve employment and prosperity. These are: Community Ayr North Ayr South Prestwick/Troon Former coalfields Maybole, Dailly and Girvan South Carrick Settlements Included Former Ayr North SIP, Newton, Wallacetown and Ayr North Harbour Ayr South Harbour and Kincaidston Troon Harbour area and parts of Prestwick Annbank, Central Tarbolton and North Mossblown Dailly, Maybole and the former Girvan SIP Rural areas south and east of Girvan including Ballantrae, Barr, Barrhill, Colmonell, Lendalfoot, Pinmore and Pinwherry
In particular, we are committed to tackling poverty, which we believe limits people’s lives. So we are developing an Anti- Poverty Strategy, that aims to help people to get the state benefits they are entitled to. Our Objectives for Economic Development In order to increase the wealth of South Ayrshire and to ensuring a fairer distribution of that wealth, we have set ourselves the following objectives: • To promote business development by making it easier to set up and do business in South Ayrshire • To develop the skills, offices, transport and communications needed by service industries • To promote tourism in the area, using the natural advantages provided by our golf courses, the link with Robert Burns and Glasgow Prestwick International Airport • To narrow the differences in the opportunities for employment between town and country and between the poorer and richer parts of South Ayrshire • To tackle overcrowding by increasing the supply of affordable housing in both urban and rural areas
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Key DocumentsA Better Future Together - The South Ayrshire Community Plan 2006-2010 Draft Integrated Children's Service Plan South Ayrshire Community Planning Partnership OPENING DOORS News & EventsSouth Ayrshire 1000 Spring 2008 Survey South Ayrshires Single Outcome Agreement is Approved by the Minister Community Planning Board approves proposals for restructuring the Partnership Appointment of a new Community Planning Coordinator Consultation on the future location of mental health facilities Partnership holds Community Planning Conference on 19 June 2008 |