News

East Ayrshire Council’s “Net Zero Accelerator” programme has scooped a top award at the 2025 COSLA Excellence Awards.

Last month Councillor Douglas Reid, Leader of East Ayrshire Council assumed the role of Chair of the Ayrshire Joint Economic Committee - the regional decision-making body governing the Ayrshire Growth Deal and the Regional Economic Strategy.  

On Saturday 25 October 2025, Marks and Spencer Plc announced plans to move from their current location in King Street, Kilmarnock to Queens Drive on the outskirts of the town.

Scotland Loves Local Awards 2025: Transformation of vacant town centre building praised as developer and landlord grows portfolio of key sites 

Calling all enterprising East Ayrshire women -  If you’ve got ambitions to start a new business, monetise your hobby or expand your existing business, our Business Development Team wants to hear from you!

For many people, knowing who to speak to, how to access expertise and making contacts with like minded people can do a lot to ease the journey, taking a fledgling idea through to a productive and profitable stage. 

Thanks to funding from the Scottish Government, East Ayrshire Council’s Business Development Team is now offering a new programme aimed at helping women establish develop and expand their business ideas.

At Cabinet this week Councillors across the board expressed disappointment as they heard how availability of  loan funding for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) all over Scotland  has come under pressure with the decision of the Scottish Government to discontinue funding for  Business Loans Scotland (BLS)

East Ayrshire Council will NOT be introducing a Visitor Levy in the near future

Burns aficionados from around the globe descended on Kilmarnock at the weekend as the town hosted the annual conference of the Robert Burns World Federation (RBWF) for the first time in over 30 years.

Ayrshire’s progress to becoming a leader in digital innovation and economic resilience was celebrated at a major event last week.

Provost and Council Leader on visit to transformed town centre building - home to more than 100 workers - as part of Scotland Loves Local Week

Work to revive site hailed as prime model for breathing new life into high streets across Scotland

Shopping Local will pay off for some lucky people in September, with £700 of East Ayrshire Gift Cards being given away to celebrate the initiative’s fifth birthday - people simply need to visit their local shops for a chance to win.