After a year-and-a-half of misery for Cumnock drivers, Glaisnock Street's access to Townhead Street finally fully reopened today (May 31).

Initially, the road closed fully, due to a collapsed wall, with a one-way system being put in place a short time after.

Here's a timeline of how we got from the road orignally closing, to drivers having the joy of coming along Ayr Road of being able to turn left.

October 2021

The street was shut off fully to pedestrians and traffic.

East Ayrshire Council said part of the wall of the adjacent pub building had become unstable during demolition works on the neighbouring building, with part of the wall falling on the footpath and road.

 

Cumnock Chronicle: The road was fully closed in October 2021.The road was fully closed in October 2021. (Image: NQ Archive)

November 2021

Six weeks later, a one-way system was placed in operation, allowing cars to drive from Townhead Street towards Glaisnock Street and Ayr Road, but not in the opposite direction.

At that time, shop owners were told it would be the end of January 2022 before the road would fully reopen.

 

January 2022

By the middle of January, council bosses had said that road would remain one-way for a "few more months".

This was due to safety work being carried out.

David Mitchell, chief governance officer, said at the time: "We continue to engage with all relevant parties to try and progress this to a permanent and acceptable outcome.”

Cumnock Chronicle: The building being made safe.The building being made safe. (Image: NQ Archive)

February 2022

A Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO) was placed on the street until April 4, 2022, meaning it would remain one-way.

Not stopping there, officials said that the TTRO would have to extended beyond that point, because work was not scheduled to start on the faulty building until the next month.

By this point, residents were becoming restless with the time taken to solve the issue.

One woman said: "Only East Ayrshire Council could take this long to reopen a road that has been closed for this length of time, and without any progress being made".

 

April 4, 2022

Fast-forwarding to April, the TTRO was then extended until at least September.

East Ayrshire Council had said that "due to the technical complexity and multiple ownership of the buildings/site it is likely that will need to remain in place for a few more months to facilitate the identification and delivery of a suitable solution".

 

Cumnock Chronicle: The road was closed for a year-and-a-half.The road was closed for a year-and-a-half. (Image: Charlie Gilmour)

April 13, 2022

The following week, East Ayrshire Council said that the issues and extended closure were caused by the “technical complexity of the site”.

Tracking down the owner of the adjacent pub building was proving to be an issue for council bosses.

They said: “The council requires more time to facilitate the identification and delivery of a suitable solution and will continue to engage with all relevant parties to try and progress to a permanent and acceptable outcome.”

 

June 2022

More owner issues cropped up for the council, as they revealed that no official owner resided at 18 Glaisnock Street, which was delaying the reopening of the partially closed part of the road.

A Freedom Of Information (FOI) request from the Chronicle to East Ayrshire Council sought to find what issues were causing the delays, and what work is still to be carried out.

The FOI revealed: “The council’s legal services section has been in dialogue with solicitors acting for the bank who hold security over the property however there has been no confirmation from the bank that they wish to call in that security."

 

Cumnock Chronicle: Access to Townhead Street was restricted.Access to Townhead Street was restricted. (Image: Charlie Gilmour)

August 2022

A breakthrough was made in August, when the decision was taken to carry out work on the stricken building and return it to a saleable condition.

The decision was taken for cabinet to fund the £107,000 worth of works to return the building to a safe condition.

 

September 2022

There was more bad news for drivers in this seemingly never-ending saga, as the most recent update was provided.

The road closure order for Glaisnock Street was extended until May 2023.

 

January 2023

After a "small setback", East Ayrshire Council said the road could be fully reopen within three months.

Having started in mid-November, a slight delay pushed plans back for the road's reopening.

Council leader, Douglas Reid had hoped that the road could be opened by the end of 2022, but that wasn't to be the case.

 

Cumnock Chronicle: Drivers can access Townhead Street once again.Drivers can access Townhead Street once again. (Image: Charlie Gilmour)

April 2023

An "unforeseen" issue meant that work on the adjacent building had been pushed back, with the hope of the work now being completed by the end of May.

 

May 24, 2023

Just last week, East Ayrshire Council confirmed the hopes that the road could be fully reopened by the end of this week.

Scaffolding was being removed from the adjacent building, with work looking like it was coming to an end.

 

May 31, 2023

A Cumnock public holiday in the making, as road restrictions were lifted, new road markings were painted and drivers could drive to Townhead Street via Glaisnock Street once again.