Ayr Beach

There are options for travelling around Ayr, including train and the bus. The hub’s nearest train station is Ayr Station. Use the Traveline Scotland journey planner to plan the most convenient route. There are different options for public transport fares, including:

• Travelling for free on buses in Scotland with a National Entitlement Card (e.g. under 22s or over 60s). Stagecoach is the most prominent bus operator in Ayshire. A DayRider ticket costs £5.50 for all day travel. More information on buses in Ayrshire can be found on the Stagecoach website.
• ScotRail train tickets can be purchased at the station or on the ScotRail app. You maybe able to buy a railcard or eligible for other discounted train tickets. Visit the ScotRail website for more information.

You can walk or wheel to most places in and around Ayr. Ayr town centre is a 20 minute walk away.

Most places in Ayr can be reached by bike in around 10 minutes. Ayr town centre is a 5 minute cycle away and Greenan Castle is a 10 minute cycle away. You can plan your cycling route using the CycleStreets website or app.

There are a number of local groups that can help you to feel more confident cycling in Ayrshire. Groups offering support for adults include:

• Cycling Scotland lists cycling trainers that operate in the local area. See the Cycling Scotland website for more details.
• Active Communities provides led rides throughout South Ayrshire. Visit the Active Communities website to learn more and register for a led ride.

There are several groups running welcoming and free ‘health walks’ to help build your walking confidence and meet other people. Visit the Walking Scotland website to find a local group.

We hope to run a free guided health walk and/or bike ride from this pop-up mobility hub while it is in Ayr– please look out for publicity or check the event listings above.

The project aims to work out how more people in Scotland can be supported to walk, wheel and cycle for short local journeys. The hub therefore needs to be near where people live, work or visit, or a combination of these things.

The site at Ayr Beach was chosen after an assessment process and site visit that looked at things like:

• Existing sustainable transport options (e.g. train, cycling, walking)
• Proximity to amenities (e.g. shops, parks, and schools)
• Demographic factors including population density and level of deprivation
• Potential for more people to take journeys by public transport or walking or cycling
• Site gradient, pavement height, etc.

The Ayr Beach location scored highly in this assessment as it is closeto local bus routes, existing cycle routes and has a high potential for modalshift to more sustainable types of transport.

No, the council is not funding the pop-up mobility hubs project. The funding for the project comes from Strathclyde Partnership for Transport’s People and Place Fund, which is a grant fund of Transport Scotland. The aim of the funding is to make it easier for more people in Scotland to walk, wheel or cycle for short, local journeys. Ayrshire Roads Alliance has partnered withCoMoUK to choose this location. Ayrshire Roads Alliance has given some staff time to support the project, but has not provided any funding.

The hub will be in the area between Tuesday 24 February to mid-March. The parking bay will then revert to its usual function once the hub is removed.

We are testing different areas of Ayrshire to see what works well and what does not to help people to walk, wheel and cycle more. Keeping pop-ups between 4 to 8 weeks means that we can try different types of location and also gives more people the benefit of having the pop-up in their area.

We delivered an information flyer to nearby households and businesses when the hub was installed and will be delivering updated information flyers during the pop-up. We have obtained permission from Ayrshire Roads Alliance to occupy the space. We will be running a survey on the hub throughout the duration of the pop-up, which you can access at: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/ayr-beach/.

CoMoUK also informed the relevant city councillors as well as the local community council.

The project aims to work out how more Scots can be supported to walk, wheel and cycle for short local journeys. The hub therefore needs to be near where people live, work or visit.

We have paid the council the fee required to occupy the parking bay and it will revert to a parking bay after the pop-up ends.

The hub features: 

• Accessible seating to allow those with mobility needs (or anyoen else) to rest while walking
• Bike repair stand and pump
• Bike parking
• Colourful planting and greenery
• Free walking and cycling events for the community while the hub is in the area

We have operated over twenty pop-ups and none so far have resulted in any major issues relating to antisocial behaviour or littering for residents. However, we will respond to any issues raised (see below for how to contact us) and our team will check on the hub regularly.

If you have an urgent concern to report about the hub, you can email scotland@como.org.uk or call 07553 355519 between Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm.

If you would like to share your opinion on the hub, positive, negative or neutral, you can fill in our survey, which can be accessed at https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/ayr-beach. By filling in the survey, you can also be entered into a prize drawer to win a £25 online shopping voucher.