The UK seaside town full of abandoned shops where high street has been 'crushed'

On Scotland’s picturesque west coast, one place was labelled the country’s worst seaside town — and the tenth worst in the UK. It scored poorly in the survey of 3,800 Which? members, with just two stars for its tourist attractions, and middling marks elsewhere.

But locals tell a more nuanced story. While they agreed the high street is "crushed" and "full of empty shops", they highlighted the town’s charms. From pretty surrounding landscapes to major international events, Ayr, they argued, is far richer than its reputation suggests — just often overlooked by tourists and struggling like the rest of the UK with blighted high streets.

Irene, who has always worked in Ayr and now runs a small tobacco shop that has survived since 1902, said she had “definitely” seen a decline in the town centre.

Recalling its heyday, she told The Express: "Going back maybe 20 odd years ago, the town was buzzing. The high street was buzzing." But now there were "very few shops", and she said more cafes, charity shops, barbers, and nail bars had moved in.

She said a combination of high rents, increased minimum wage, and National Insurance contributions has "crushed all the businesses—not just the small ones, but the large ones as well".

"There are some independent stores, and just talking to other retailers, I think we're all in the same boat; we're all really struggling."

However, she emphasised that the situation isn't unique to Ayr and is similar across the UK. She noted how it was a "vicious circle" as more empty buildings reduce footfall for surviving retailers.

Her niche cigar business attracts tourists from caravan holidaying site Haven Park because "they can't get it anywhere else really," but the number of visitors is lower than in past times.

Gordon Pickens, whose traditional family butcher's has been in Ayr since 1888, linked the decline to the high running costs, which smaller shops cannot afford.

"The trouble with here was they're all big stores," he said. "They're all big premises no one can afford to take on, and they're all high rates as well. So between the high rates, high rent, people can't afford to move into them."

He said nearby Prestwick was faring better thanks to its smaller premises. "They haven't got the big department stores, so independent shops can afford to open up there. Much cheaper rents and rates."

However, he told a different story to Which? survey, which gave it three out of five for scenery. He emphasised: "The surrounding areas are lovely. There are golf courses, parks, and a beach — it's all nice. It's literally just the shops.”

Karen McClelland, who runs a small bed and breakfast in Ayr, said that despite the challenges, her three-bed B&B is usually full from May to September.

Many of her guests come from Glasgow and the central belt, drawn by the racecourse, weddings, and the annual air show, when the "whole town comes alight". While there had been fewer international visitors since COVID, it had started to pick up.

She believed Ayr’s strong point is "100% the promenade and the beach", but acknowledged the town centre needed work.

“When it comes to the high street, the town, the shopping area, I don’t think it’s terribly different from many other towns nowadays. We lost a lot of the big shops and it’s kind of taken over by pound shops and charity shops, which is a real shame.”

She also pointed to the success of smaller Prestwick. "I'm old enough to remember the days before shopping centres and before supermarkets," she added. "So I think it was the advent of the shopping centre [and the retail park] that has killed the high street."

She believed that Ayr is often overlooked compared to places like Edinburgh, Glasgow, or the West Highland Way, but highlighted the array of activities in the area.

“We’ve got Culzean Castle, there’s Dumfries House, Robert Burns was born here,” she said. “You can easily spend a week in Ayr just having a look at what there is to see.”

Having lived there for 25 years and set to enter semi-retirement, she added: "I've been looking to potentially downsize and move elsewhere, but you know what, I quite like it and I'm only five minutes from the beach, so I'll probably end up staying."

Councillor Bob Shields agreed that Ayr town centre, once the shopping destination of Ayrshire, needed regeneration, and stressed that work is under way.

He said: "It doesn't help any high street to have buildings that are boarded up and looking for new owners. So the council is trying to address that and look at ways of getting smaller businesses to attract them into the town, and try and regenerate a whole new culture of town centre shopping."

He added: "The internet's taking its toll on every high street in the country and it's just a matter of accepting that and deciding how to regenerate it."

Plans could include attracting more independent businesses, adding housing to the town centre to boost footfall, making transport and parking more accessible, and reviving the esplanade with traditional seaside attractions, like a crazy golf course.

"We lost our railway station for a while due to a major fire at the Station Hotel, so hopefully we'll be looking at a new railway station and turn it into a transport hub," he added.

"These are all part of the council's regeneration plans, but all things in council take their time," he said. "It's a long process. Years of degeneration take years of regeneration to fix it all."

"I think the public is right to be impatient. They walk around the high street and say there's nothing happening, but to be honest, there is a lot happening," he said. "We ask the public to be patient, but I can see where they're coming from."

Cllr Shields pointed to Ayr’s proven ability to draw crowds. He said the last two International Ayr Shows drew a quarter of a million people, and he predicted Ayr would be the "busiest seaside resort in the whole of the UK" during this year's September 5-6 event.

"People say there's nothing to do or see in Ayr," he said. "I think the criteria depends on what people are looking for. If you want beaches, it's hard to top Ayr's beach."

He also praised its views over the Isle of Arran, championship golf courses, and Glasgow Prestwick Airport just minutes away, and said "it is a matter of building on those things".

Cllr Shields noted setbacks like soaring building costs, the council not owning the old station hotel site, which means their "hands are tied legally at the moment", and the sheer time it takes to make changes.

But between its natural beauty and the ability to host events that rival anywhere in the UK, its defenders insist Ayr has all the makings of a great seaside town.