South Ayrshire Council has admitted that new security barriers kept drivers locked out of Ayr's seafront by mistake at the weekend. Officials confessed they had "overlooked" the opening of Blackburn Car Park on Sunday morning.
The main beach car park is now subject to closure between 6.30pm and 7am each day in a bid to clamp down on antisocial behaviour. The site is subject to enhanced security measures until March 2027, with barriers preventing access to the car park each night following complaints about groups of vehicles gathering to disturb local residents.
Drivers locked out on Sunday morning
Frustrated members of the public took to social media on Sunday morning to report they still couldn't access the car park hours after its scheduled opening time. The barriers remained shut, leaving drivers locked out at Ayr beach.
A spokesperson for South Ayrshire Council said: "Due to a change in personnel on Sunday morning the opening of the car park was overlooked. This was rectified around 10:45am and steps have been taken to ensure this does not happen again. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused."
Apology and corrective steps
The council confirmed the issue was resolved at approximately 10:45am. Steps have been taken to prevent a recurrence of the oversight, and the council has apologised for any inconvenience caused to drivers.
