Statement from Councillor Douglas Reid – Leader of East Ayrshire Council

EAC Leader Douglas Reid has issued the following statement this afternoon.

“News of the fire in King Street is devastating for all who live, work and shop in Kilmarnock town centre. In recent months we have been working closely with partners and investors to develop a new vision for the future of our town, and I’m deeply saddened by this latest turn of events. I attended this incident last night and saw first-hand the scale of the disaster unfolding.

“At this moment in time our teams are working under the direction of Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, and early indications suggest that the damage is worse than we had first imagined.

“Our main concern is and always will be human safety, and in this regard our Building Standards officers have been able to get access to the site to inspect the affected building and it breaks my heart to say that regrettably parts of this listed building will need to be demolished as a matter of urgency to allow other recovery works to be progressed and further assessments continuing thereafter.

“For now several local businesses are unable to trade due to safety concerns and road closures, and some have lost stock or incurred operational disruption. Several small businesses have been forced to close at short notice, with no clear indication of when they will be able to reopen. We won’t know the full extent of the damage until business owners can regain access to their properties, and for some, this could result in a critical loss of income and jeopardise their ability to continue to trade.

“Our Business Support Team has been quick to respond and we will shortly be launching a Kilmarnock Town Centre Recovery Fund to support local small businesses with direct financial assistance, and separate support focused on strategic engagement with national chain and larger employers affected by the incident.

“And in true Killie style the community has rallied round and I’m heartened to hear that other businesses in the area already coming forward with offers of support and use of temporary premises.

“The loss of a national retailer Bonmarche in the town centre also raises concerns about job losses, reduced footfall and the longer-term impact of town centre recovery. The incident presents an economic risk that requires a coordinated and proactive response from the Council and our partners.

“We are hugely grateful to our colleagues in Scottish Fire and Rescue and Police Scotland for a first-class response last night and throughout the course of today. I understand that there is now a live CID investigation into wilful fire-raising and we will continue to support efforts to bring this incident to a safe conclusion.”