Police are appealing for information after the front door of a property was deliberately set alight in the Keir Hardie Hill area of Cumnock. The incident happened around 5am on Sunday, 19 April. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service attended and no one was injured. Detective Constable Fraser Murray said: “The fire is being treated as wilful and enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances. “We are asking anyone who saw anything suspicious at the time to get in tou

The Music Service has showcased the talent and dedication of children and young people across East Ayrshire during March - a month of incredible energy, achievement, and musical celebration. Throughout the month, over 900 pupils took part in Benedetti Foundation classroom workshops, bringing world-class musical inspiration directly into schools. These engaging sessions ignited creativity, built confidence, and offered pupils the chance to experience music-making on a whole ne

One of Galston’s most prominent buildings has been brought back into public use, following a £3.45m restoration project undertaken by East Ayrshire Council. The new Galston Town Hall will officially open its doors to the public on Wednesday  8 April 2026, offering a new location for the public library, and a skills and learning hub to enhance further the Council’s commitment to giving local people the skills to learn and work. The refurbishment officially got underway in Janu

East Ayrshire Council has launched a new vocation training programme as part of the Ayrshire Growth Deal’s ambitions to upskill residents in Cumnock and Doon Valley, enabling them to access employment in the emerging electric vehicle and hydrogen automotive sector. The pilot project is a key component of the Community Renewable Energy project (CoRE) which will develop new skills pathways in creating a pipeline of skilled individuals aligned to the needs of local employers, wh

A new bin collection service will be rolled out in two phases starting in Cumnock and the surrounding area from May 2026, and Kilmarnock and the surrounding area from October. The new collection service will see the recycling trolley replaced with three separate wheeled bins for paper and cardboard, plastics and cans, and glass. Each of the new bins, along with the general waste bin, will be collected once every four weeks, while the food caddy will be collected weekly alongs

East Ayrshire Council’s Cabinet has agreed the Ayrshire Roads Alliance’s programme of investment works that will allow improvements to be carried out to carriageways, footways and street lighting, in addition to bridge strengthening and investment in transportation, traffic and road safety. For 2026/27 the overall roads capital budget will be £5.752 million, and a number of carriageway and footway schemes have been identified and prioritised for action. The investment will se

New redeployable CCTV cameras are being installed in priority areas across East Ayrshire to tackle environmental crime and improve community safety. In May last year, Council agreed as part of the Strategic Review of Community Safety and Enforcement, to fund six new deployable cameras bringing the total across the area to 14. The cameras are currently being installed in areas that have been identified in partnership with key stakeholders, taking account of feedback from resid

Nick Page, Chief Executive of Scotland's new national awarding body, Qualifications Scotland and Chief Examiner Donna Stewart visited SL33 in Kilmarnock recently to find out more about the service the team provide. Welcomed by Director of Education and Skills, Linda McAulay-Griffiths and Chief Executive Eddie Fraser - Nick and Donna met with Margorie Harvie, Skills and Learning Employability Manager, Ian Burgoyne, Assistant Director of Education and Skills, and the wider team

Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Fiona Hyslop MSP visited Darvel Primary last week to meet the partnership team behind an impressive active travel initiative. The Cabinet Secretary was welcomed to the school by Ethan, Lewis, Brooklyn, Lillie and Ollie; Councillor Douglas Reid, Leader of the Council, Councillor Elaine Cowan, Spokesperson for Education, and Children and Young People, and Chief Executive Eddie Fraser; who were joined at the visit by Councillors Jim McMahon, Grah

A recent meeting at Full Council informed members that new firework laws have been introduced, and East Ayrshire Council will oversee the process for considering and designating Firework Control Zones. The  Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022  gives councils a new discretionary power to introduce Firework Control Zones. A Firework Control Zone is a designated area within a local authority area in which it is a criminal offence for a member of the public to

The trial of 20mph speed limits on all local roads in Mauchline and New Cumnock is set to begin soon. The local schemes, being implemented by Ayrshire Roads Alliance (ARA), complement work that has almost been completed by Transport Scotland in partnership with ARA across the trunk road network to reduce the speed limit to 20mph. The speed limit reduction is due to start on local roads in New Cumnock on 6 March and Mauchline on 13 March, the same dates that the A76 schemes go

At the recent meeting of Full Council, a report was presented on the rent consultation for 2026/27 and 2027/28. Agreement was reached that housing rent would increase by 7% for 2026/27, which is equivalent to an average increase of £6.36 a week; and 7% for 2027/28, which is equivalent to £6.80 a week. An extensive consultation with tenants took place between 1 December and 25 January 2026, and two proposals were presented for each year. For 2026/27 - proposal one was for a re

Wallace Court, East Ayrshire Council’s assisted living housing development on Kilmarnock Road, Mauchline has been officially opened by Councillor Jim McMahon, Spokesperson for Housing, Transport and Communities. Named after not one but two local Wallaces – the Wallace family who operated a market garden on the site and Margaret Wallace, a former MSP and Community Centre volunteer – Wallace Court, which was built for the East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership, provid

Local pupils helped to remember those who were involved in all aspects of the Holocaust and subsequent genocides as part of an event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. Pupils from Auchinleck Primary and St Joseph’s, Kilmarnock, Stewarton, Loudoun, Doon, Robert Burns and Grange Academies delivered powerful presentations, lit candles and held a minute’s silence at East Ayrshire Council HQ in memory of all those who lost their lives during the Holocaust, Nazi persecution and in gen

East Ayrshire Council can confirm that The Robert Burns Academy and SLC, Hillside School, Lochnorris Primary and SLC, and Cherry Trees ECC will reopen on Monday 12 January. Pipers Café will remain closed for the foreseeable future. Multi-service meetings have been held daily throughout the week, and engineers and a number of contractors have been onsite throughout addressing issues that have arisen since Sunday 4 January. This will continue over the weekend to ensure that any

Four properties on Barnweil Drive, Hurlford have been completely renovated by Housing Services on behalf of the East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership (EAHSCP). In April 2025, Cabinet agreed to investment of £152,600 from the Council’s Innovation Fund to renovate four properties that will provide adult supported accommodation. Barnweil Drive is one of nine housing hubs across East Ayrshire, which are based on a shared support and responder model. This means that ind

As construction continues apace at the site of the new Ayrshire Innovation Park, Moorfield, Kilmarnock, some essential roadworks will commence on Monday, 5 January 2026, for approximately ten weeks. These works will be taking place near the entrance of Crosshouse Hospital and will include a single lane closure on the B7081 in an eastbound direction towards Kilmarnock. Between 5-19 January, these works will be restricted to the small farm access road opposite the hospital, but

As we approach the festive season, it’s important to take a moment to think about those in our communities who give so much of themselves to care for others. Among them are our young carers – remarkable children and young people who somehow balance school, friendships, and growing up with the responsibility of looking after a loved one. I’ve had the privilege of meeting many young carers this year as part of my support for East Ayrshire Young Carers charity, and their kindnes

Construction of the Ayrshire Innovation Park (AIP), at Moorfield in Kilmarnock, is officially underway and officials gathered in Kilmarnock to celebrate the start of this £48.8m Ayrshire Growth Deal project. The Ayrshire Innovation Park is the latest Growth Deal project to break ground in East Ayrshire, and it is set to transform the local economy into the next decade and beyond with job creation and business growth opportunities. With a total acreage of almost 32 acres, the

School Captains Alyssa and Aaron from St Joseph's Academy, and Acting Head of Campus Angela Buchanan, welcomed guests from the Council to their Campus recently to enjoy a fresh, sustainable school meal. Leader of the Council, Councillor Douglas Reid was joined by Councillors Elaine Cowan, Graham Barton, Linda Mabon and Neill Watts; Head of Facilities and Property Management Andrew Kennedy and Assistant Director of Education Graham McGinn for lunch.  They joined the queue with