Community centres and libraries under threat in South Ayrshire amid £8.4m budget gap

Community centres, libraries, school services, street cleaning and up to almost 77 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs are among the potential cuts to be considered by South Ayrshire Council next week.

A report to councillors ahead of the March 5 budget meeting sets out dozens of savings options across every directorate as the authority seeks to close an overall budget gap of £8.463m for 2026/27.

However, not all of the options will be required, with the use of reserves and/or council tax increases also available to reduce the budget gap.

Of the £4.775m in proposed new savings, £3.332m could be delivered in the coming financial year, with the remainder the following year.

The proposals, if all implemented, would result in a net reduction of 76.91 FTE posts across services.

Among the most visible proposals are plans to progress the closure or transfer of multiple community and leisure facilities.

Activity centres at Muirhead, Mossblown and Coylton could be closed or transferred, along with the Northfield Bowling facility.

Community centres in Dundonald, Crosshill, Monkton, Colmonell, Ballantrae and Prestwick are also listed for potential closure or transfer.

Leisure changes include reducing opening hours and staffing at Riverside Sports Arena, phasing out diving and deep-water sessions at the Citadel, prioritising swimming lessons over some public access, ending the senior golf concession scheme and removing protected tee times .

Support for local events could also be scaled back, with proposals to withdraw funding from the Unified Bowls event, cancel the Burns Humanitarian Awards and reduce the events budget .

Several library facilities are included in the savings list. Proposals include progressing closure of Ballantrae Library, John Rodie Library in Mossblown and Symington Library, as well as the Ayr Heritage Hub .

The council’s £25,000 contribution to the Biosphere partnership could also end, alongside the deletion of a heritage post and reductions to tourism development funding.

In education, proposals include reducing early years registered capacity, cutting central education resource budgets, reducing absence cover budgets and removing specific training budgets .

There are also plans to delete a vacant 0.5 FTE administration post supporting the Instrumental Music Service and reduce its expansion budget .

Savings in neighbourhood services include reducing tree and woodland management, altering street cleansing arrangements, reducing grass pitch maintenance standards, and cutting bedding plant displays, with several options ranging from scaling back seasonal planting to removing floral displays entirely.

Proposals within the Ayrshire Roads Alliance include reviewing winter gritting routes, reducing verge cutting on rural roads, introducing part-night switching of street lighting in rural areas, and reducing pothole repairs on certain unclassified roads.

School crossing patrol provision could be reduced, and cleaning across council premises would move to a reduced specification, with a mobile operative model, under the facilities management proposals.

The savings package forms part of efforts to address the council’s £8.463m budget gap for 2026/27.

Councillors may also consider using reserves or increasing council tax. Each 1% rise in council tax would raise around £745k – money that would not then have to be found through cuts.

A five per cent increase in Band D council tax would generate approximately £3.725 million; an 8% rise would bring in £5.96 million; 10% increase would raise about £7.45 million; and a 12% rise would generate around £8.94 million.

South Ayrshire Council meets on Thursday, March 5, to finalise its 2026/27 budget.