Ayrshire shop owner's take on regenerating town centres as hub takes shape

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A cultural arts space hopes to not only aid town centre footfall but also support wellbeing by giving people an outlet to explore their passions.

The People's Art School, on Ayr’s Newmarket Street, is currently being renovated by father-daughter duo Robert Singer and Saskia into a creative hub to offer art exhibitions, theatre, poetry, and various workshops including dance, yoga and traditional printing.

Robert and Saskia have ran their artist collective Narture since 2020, which sees them baking and selling bread to fund arts projects and ‘reanimate the historic quarter of Ayr’.Robert said utilising the ‘history and cultural values’ of the town and creating experiential spaces will deliver two main objectives: bringing people back into the high street while also aiding positive mental health by offering a place to try new experiences and hobbies.He said: “We’re not going to regenerate the town centre on retail - it’s never going to happen.“It’s not sustainable to be moving things into retail parks because all you’re doing is decimating town centres.“You’re taking the very reason why people shop in town centres which is to buy local.“If you can buy it online, you’re going to get it online - we’re all guilty of it.“But we should have a reason to bring people into the town centre, when they can’t get it online, like ‘I can’t do an online Riso printing workshop, I need to go to the actual space’.Robert said building an experiential space, rather than property or retail, will help people 'engage' with their town centres.“People are tired of going bowling or the cinema, they need something that they actually engage with,” he said.“Wellbeing is a key part of our project because we are undoubtedly moving towards an era of