South Ayrshire Council agrees eight-year £237m capital programme

A new eight-year capital investment programme which sets out total investment of almost £237 million until 2025/26 was agreed by South Ayrshire Council yesterday.-Key features of the programme include more than £43 million strategic investment in ICT and £3m more in 2018/19 for road reconstruction and improvement.-An additional £12m for a new ‘all-through’ campus at Carrick Academy was also agreed, taking the budget to more than £19m as part of a total investment package of more than £74m in the education estate-A £1m package to support Maybole town centre regeneration, £750,000 to support the implementation of 20 mile per hour speed limits in towns and villages and £855,000 to improve public toilet provision made up the spending programme.Also agreed yesterday was a £186 million revenue budget for 2018/19 includes additional investment in key areas that support the council’s vision for Our People, Our Place. This includes:Increasing the school clothing grant by 50% to £75 pounds (£66,000)£65,000 to support the schools at the heart of the community project and to provide additional holiday activities for schools in the most socially-disadvantaged areas£20,000 to reinstate a fund to support community galas£17,000 to cover the letting costs for breakfast clubs in our schoolsSupporting the development of place plans for the five towns and villages programme, with £100,000 for improved signage and community engagement£75,000 to support staff training and retraining initiatives to ensure the council can deliver the right services in the best possible way.