South Ayrshire councillors have voted by 14 votes to seven, with three abstentions, to allow the next stage of the Dunure Living Heritage Project to proceed, despite criticism over transparency, public consultation and concerns about a separate £2.5 million visitor centre proposal.
The proposals include restoring the village's historic harbour and light tower, improving visitor parking and creating footpaths and a footbridge linking Kennedy Park with Dunure Castle and the village centre.
Concerns over late publication
Several councillors criticised the decision to introduce the report as an additional agenda item at Thursday's full council meeting, arguing that members and the public had insufficient time to scrutinise the proposals.
One councillor said they had only become aware of the additional business around midnight before the meeting. They said: "I didn't know that there was an additional paper to council until somewhere around about midnight last night and that's really not quite good enough."
Another argued that the late publication prevented elected members, the media and residents from properly examining the proposals.
Funding and costs
The heritage project, developed with community organisation Dynamic Dunure, has secured an £870,000 funding commitment from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, comprising £180,000 towards development and £690,000 towards delivery.
The overall estimated cost is £1.849m, including £480,000 from South Ayrshire Council. The council's contribution towards the footpath and footbridge has risen from £300,000 to £480,000 because of construction inflation and design changes.
Other proposed improvements include 32 car parking spaces, eight campervan stances, coach parking, electric vehicle charging facilities and heritage displays. However, the report warns that £499,000 in anticipated external funding remains unsecured, with potential funders yet to be approached.
Helm visitor centre dispute
The separate Dunure Helm proposal proved particularly contentious. The facility was originally intended to replace Kennedy Hall with a new visitor and community centre in Kennedy Park.
Although £2.5m remains identified in the council's capital investment programme, the report warns that the original estimated construction cost of £2.375m, dating from 2023, is likely to have increased significantly. It also confirms that no council business case has yet been developed.
Councillor Bob Pollock questioned whether the visitor centre represented a viable investment. He said: "I still have concerns, and I've voiced these before, about the Helm project."
He added: "Once again we've been asked to approve two and a half million pounds worth potentially of funding on the basis of a project that to my mind still does not have a credible business case."
Clash and defence
Provost Iain Campbell challenged his criticism, defending the work undertaken by Dynamic Dunure and the successful National Lottery Heritage Fund application. He said the organisation brought together community groups including the harbour committee, community council, school parent-teacher association and youth club.
Cllr Pollock responded that the Heritage Lottery Fund had supported the restoration works rather than the separate Helm visitor centre. He said: "They do not support the Helm, we're still waiting on that."
Assistant Director of Planning and Development, Chris Cox, confirmed that the council had not completed its own business case for the facility. She said: "I can confirm that the council hasn't undertaken a business case."
Chief Executive Stephen Penman stressed that councillors were not being asked to approve expenditure on the Helm development. He said: "There is no seeking of approval of any amount of money for the Helm in this report."
Council leader Brian Connolly defended the wider heritage proposals, highlighting Dunure's historical significance and potential benefits for the village. He said: "This is a worthy project driven by the local community through Dynamic Dunure and we would ask council to support the latest phase of the work."
Mr Penman defended the decision to bring the report forward, explaining that work needed to progress ahead of the National Lottery Heritage Fund's September 2027 deadline and forthcoming capital budget decisions. He acknowledged that the arrangements were not ideal and promised to review procedures for notifying councillors about late reports.
Despite the objections, councillors approved the recommendations, allowing development work on the heritage scheme to continue while requiring further scrutiny of the Helm proposal. The revised costing for the visitor centre will be considered on December 10.
