Ayr MSP Siobhian Brown is calling for South Ayrshire Council to improve communication with businesses affected by the Station Hotel fire. 

The iconic Ayr landmark went up in smoke back in September causing road closures and halting rail services from the travel hub.

It also caused chaos for commuters and heartache for businesses in Smith Street and surrounding areas, as they were closed for several days and footfall has reportedly now dropped due to streets being shut off.

The Ayr MSP met with many of the businesses affected including Nanny Mary’s and The Honeybee and the Hare café to discuss the issues they are facing.

They expressed concern that updates they had received from the local authority had been via Facebook.

On Friday, November 10, Ms Brown again visited Smith Street operators alongside SNP councillors Julie Dettbarn and George Weir, to discuss further ways in which help could be accessed.

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Ms Brown said: “The main theme I am hearing from business owners is that there has been a lack of communication with South Ayrshire Council. They are seeing updates on Facebook when a more personal approach should be taken.

“I wrote to the local authority after first meeting businesses and asked them to contact these people. I also asked about any grant funding available and if the Economy Team were planning to visit shops affected.

“It is imperative that lines of communication stay open, and everything is done to help these businesses and the landlords who own the premises.

"We know it will be around seven weeks before the roads are fully open so that creates added issues. We are coming up to Christmas and many of these businesses rely on the festive trade. We need to see swift action.”

Today in Parliament a cross party round table meeting was held to talk about the future of the hotel and the options for it and the surrounding streets.

South Ayrshire Council has been contacted for comment.