Celebrating the success of Coalfields Communities regeneration with a tour of life changing projects

Members of East Ayrshire Council’s Cabinet recently took an extensive tour of areas of Cumnock and Doon Valley following the conclusion of the Coalfield Communities Landscape Partnership (CCLP) projects which, since the first investigations in 2016, have been instrumental in transforming landscapes and communities left devastated by the collapse of the opencast mining industry in the area.

Since the inception of the first projects in 2020, nearly £6.5million in funding and in kind contributions from National Lottery Heritage Fund, Scottish Government, East Ayrshire Council and project partners, has been invested in 22 projects spanning communities throughout the Cumnock and Doon Valley areas. 

Councillor Douglas Reid, Leader of East Ayrshire Council,  Depute Leader and local member, Councillor Jim McMahon, were accompanied by  Councillors Claire Maitland,  Neal Ingram and Drew Filson. 

First stop wias the Ochiltree Community Hub, whch served as the epicentre of several CCLP projects including the “Sense of Place” project led by the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere. This project encouraged local people to explore their natural  and cultural heritage through participatory workshops, fostering greater connections with the landscape, the culture and each other.  

The Ochiltree Community Hub itself has been a remarkable local success, thanks to the dedication of 12 local residents who worked with East Ayrshire Council, Ayrshire and Arran Health Board  and the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund  and Place Based Investment Fund to regenerate the former library to create a multi-use hub which now promotes multi-generational activities, healthy living, educational opportunities and access to heatlh care. 

Next it was on to the Lugar Water Walk, which was carried out in conjunction with  East Ayrshire Woodlands and Ayrshire 360.  This project improved the path from Lugar to Cumnock and Cumnock to Auchinleck Estate. 

A team of apprentices from  East Ayrshire Woodlandslearned new skills and gained qualifications as they worked to improve connectivity and opportunities for sustainable travel and healthy exercise over a distance of 14.5km. 

History too, was an important part of the work of the CCLP.  The “Life in the lost villages” oral history project captured the history of life in the villages which existed before the loss of the mining industry. These  included  Lethanhill, Burnfoot and Benwhat in the Doon Valley,  Commondyke and Damconner in the Lugar Valley and Glenbuck, birthplace of many famous sportsmen including the legendary Bill Shankly.  

Run in conjunction with University of Strathclyde, the project captured stories and recorded them for posterity in a book,  “Memory, Mining and Heritage: Voices from Ayrshire Communities”. An accompanying exhibition was hosted at Cumnock’s Baird Institute before moving to the National Mining Museum and finally finding a permanent home at the Boswell Centre. 

Over in Cumnock the Tower Street Pocket Park, project run by Cumnock Action Plan and Green Action Trust,  transformed an undeveloped vacant site in the centre of Cumnock into an accessible green space including raised beds for community use, storage for tools and games, interpretation boards and seating areas to encourage people to gather and enjoy the increased biodiversity and wildlife which have resulted from the planting. 

In a similar vein, the Netherthird Community Action Trust took on  the “Hedgerow Habits” project, planting trees and forming hedges across the Netherthird Community Garden  area and at the Community Woodland at Holmburn Road in Netherthird. 

Next the Councillors visited the  Doon Valley Inclusive Cycling project – run by Dalmellington  Parish Development Trust, this included the setting up of an inclusive cycling track and cycle hub facilities to  increase visitor numbers, build confidence and encourage people back into cycling while providing business opportunities for entrepreneurs. 

Finally the party visited the Doon Valley Railway at Dunaskin/Waterside which is run by the Ayrshire Railway Preservation Group.  Their project included improvement of their café, renovation of an old wagon shed to accommodate visitors and a narrow gauge railway, and the erection of a new shed to house their collection of restored and historically important rolling stock. 

The project funding has helped secure the future of the Doon Valley Railway, increasing both its capacity and its offer to visitors who can experience rides on the various engines and carriages restored by the Ayrshire Railway Preservation Group, encouraging community led tourism in the Doon Valley.