East Ayrshire Council leader Douglas Reid has vowed to keep pushing for improvements to the heart of the area’s road network.
This week it was revealed that the failure to get support for upgrading the Bellfield Interchange from either the UK government or Scottish government had resulted in a change of location for a key Ayrshire Growth Deal Project.
The local authority had planned to develop a ‘manufacturing corridor’ to the east of the Bellfield Roundabout – one of the busiest junctions in the west of Scotland
But this week it agreed to change tack and take the project to the only other site considered, at Moorfield on the other side of Kilmarnock.
Officers revealed that, while there was disappointment at the failure of the £20m bid to the UK levelling up fund, the new plan, which will include the co-location of the new Ayrshire Engineering Park, is better than the original set for Bellfield.
Councillor Reid was keen to get the message across that he saw the Bellfield upgrade as vital to the economic future of not only East Ayrshire, but the west of Scotland.
He said: “I think we realise how much inflation is affecting our work, so it is really good to, hopefully, get two projects off the ground and get in early. I think that is absolutely critical.
“In terms of Bellfield interchange, I am disappointed that the two bids mentioned have not been successful. That doesn’t meant that we won’t take absolutely every opportunity to lobby for improvements at the Bellfield Interchange.
“It is fundamentally important, in terms of safety. The queuing at the off ramp onto the A71 is a concern.
“But also in terms of the economic growth of the wider region, it is critical that we get some investment into the Bellfield Interchange.”
He added that it was vital that the council didn’t take ‘our eye off the ball’ and continue to lobby government for the project.
Kilmarnock and Crosshouse councillor Iain Linton said the ongoing concerns about the narrowing space between Kilmarnock and Crosshouse as a result of developments in recent years.
He asked whether there was a plan to keep a ‘green corridor’ to protect the character of Crosshouse?
Cllr Linton was told that the development of the Ayrshire Growth Deal projects at Moorfield will not increase the existing footprint as approved in the latest local development plan.
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