The devastating economic impact of the demise of the East Ayrshire coal mining industry is still being felt today, according to the Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT).
In a recent report, the UK charity found their communities were "particularly deprived" compared to other former mining areas across the country.
The ‘State of the Coalfields 2024’ report is the third to be commissioned by the CRT from the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University.
It found that, although there has been substantial job growth in many former coalfield communities across the UK, the rate of growth in East Ayrshire has been far slower than in the main regional cities.
Gary Porter, regeneration and development manager for the CRT in Scotland. is working to arrest a predicted population decline in places like Cumnock, Auchinleck and Dalmellington, where coal was once king, and to attract more secure long term jobs.
He says the problems these towns and villages are facing with depopulation is almost identical to that of other coalfield areas across the UK.
One possible solution is the CRT's Coalfield Worx programme which offers training and work experience to young people in former mining areas.
The CRT has also opened a family hub in Drongan which provide after school programmes and summer activities for children so the parents are able to work.
Another initiative involved the purchase of a former bank in Dalmellington to provide office space for a local wind farm initiative.
Mr Porter says the CRT is aiming to promote the growth of local businesses to provide jobs for local people as well as sourcing funding from bodies like the Scottish Government.
He added: "We are seeing second and third generation unemployment in former mining communities like Auchinleck and Dalmellington which we want to change.
"These areas are still feeling the impact of the mine closures, which also had a knock-on effect for other local businesses such as cafes and newsagents.
"We believe there is huge untapped potential in the former coalfield communities."
Mr Porter believes that the East Ayrshire area, with its amenities and its transport network, is in a good position to take advantage of future business opportunities.
He added: “The problem was, when the pits closed, nothing was put in their place at the time.
"We are encouraging people in these communities to take ownership of their problems and find solutions and employment opportunities using local knowledge and experience.
"We will work with these communities to provide the resources that they need to help build a positive future.
"There is a lot of self aspiration in the former coalfield communities and we are trying to support that as best we can."
The Coalfields Regeneration Trust was set up in 1999 by the the Prime Minister Tony Blair, following recommendations made by the government’s Coalfields Task Force, to support former mining communities and create jobs.
At one stage coal mines in Britain employed more than 1.2 million people, with the Cumnock and Doon Valley area alone boasting more than 30 deep mines at one time or another.
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