SEASON`S GREETINGS

`Tis the season to be jolly - and I am sure you have more to do with your time than to keep up with my ramblings this month. So I will keep it short.

But last week proved to be quite a momentous one at the council. It is not often that you can feel you have really made a difference - but last week we did. The Regulatory Panel (the new name for the planning committee) in the course of two days approved three massive and important developments for the future of South Ayrshire.

First we approved an application to build almost 600 houses at East Troon, edging Barassie. This has been 10 years in the planning, including a public inquiry, but finally last Wednesday we were able to give the go-ahead to builders Stuart Milne. Of the 600 or so houses, 150 will come into the `affordable` category and at last the planners have come to realise that it is essential when social houses are included in a developoment (we no longer build council house estates) they shouldn`t stick out like a sore thumb, creating a `them and us` scenario. You only need to look at some of the Ayrshire Housing that has gone up to see what I mean - Doonfoot and Coylton spring to mind!

Coming with this development are community benefits, including new sports facilities at the nearest primary school, plus cash from the developer towards educational provision in the area. Details have still to be thrashed out but a lot of new families will move into the area and the kids will need to go to school.

The next day we approved the outline planning application for the new Paisley university campus at Craigie Estate in Ayr. The old Craigie College will disappear and in its place there will be new university buildings which will also house the students of the West of Scotland Agricultural College. Around 250 houses will also be built on the former pitch and put course on the estate, including again 25 per cent affordable housing.

There are concerns locally about the pressure on the traffic flow, but the roads experts feel their new plan will happily cope with the increase. We will need to wait and see, bearing in mind another 400 houses are going up in the area as part of the Ayr Racecourse development.

Finally we also passed the plans for the new Girvan Community Hospital. There had been fears that this would be sacrificed by the Health Board as part of the overspill from the Scottish Government`s decision to keep the Ayr A&E department open, but happily these fears have proved groundless. On Thursday we approved plans for in-patients and out-patients facilities, a rehabilitation suite, community casualty facilities, an ambulance station, pharmacy and cafeteria.

AND it will all be powered by a large wind turbine- very eco-friendly!

A good way to end 2007.

All there is left for me to say is I wish you joy at Christmas and peace, health and prosperity in 2008.