East Ayrshire set for £30m Bellfield roundabout and Kilmarnock cultural quarter bid

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Councillors look set to give the green light to a £30 million bid to the UK Government’s Levelling Up fund to modernise the Bellfield Interchange and develop Kilmarnock’s cultural quarter.East Ayrshire Council’s cabinet will decide whether to go ahead with the ambitious proposals tomorrow.A report to cabinet states: “Bellfield Interchange is the most important traffic junction in East Ayrshire and for many is a gateway to the rest of Ayrshire and the wider south west of Scotland region.”It describes the issues at the roundabout, including pedestrian and vehicle safety, congestion and capacity constraints.The report also warns that a lack of investment will have a knock-on effect on the Ayrshire Growth Deal proposal for the Ayrshire Manufacturing Investment Corridor (AMIC) project.Ayrshire Roads Alliance has developed options for £10m of improvements to the Bellfield Interchange to cater for increased traffic volumes and to deliver safety improvements.The Ayrshire Live app is available to download now.Get all the local news in your area – plus features, football news and the latest on the coronavirus crisis – at your fingertips 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories while you can customise your page with the sections that matter to you.The Ayrshire Live app is available to download now on iOS and Android.This includes new traffic lights, the introduction of a third lane by reducing the hard verges and the building of a separate pedestrian/cycle bridge alongside the junction.An application for ‘Cultural Kilmarnock’ will be for £20m, with further funding sought for a scheme that is expected to cost around £31m in total.The report outlines the plans, saying: “Cultural Kilmarnock has