£2.2m in unspent opencast restoration funding set to go to Merlin Park development and recycling depots.
Several East Ayrshire projects struggling with financial pressures are set to benefit from unused opencast mine restoration money.
The developments – a new synthetic pitch at Merlin Park in Auchinleck, and the recycling depots at Western Road, Kilmarnock and Garlaff, near Cumnock, are to be boosted by more than £2.2 million.
East Ayrshire Council cabinet will consider the proposals on Wednesday, December 3.
‘Intensifying pressures’ at Merlin Park and the Western Road projects are the main focus of the report.
Garlaff, which was given an additional £700k earlier this year, is included as it is intrinsically linked to the Western Road work.
The development at Merlin Park was expected to be around £1.4m, but a separate report on Wednesday will seek to increase the budget allocation.
Another report will seek more funding for Western Road.
However, the amounts requested not been revealed, with the additional report set to be heard in private.
No figure is given for the Western Road allocation.
The money comes from the final phase of the long-running Chalmerston opencast restoration programme, which has now been completed under budget.
The restoration work—spanning several years and totalling around £33 million—had included £10 million of council capital funding.
The completion of the Chalmerston complex has left a balance of £2,248,694, which officers say can now be repurposed to address “immediate financial pressures” on those key projects.
Costs across all three have climbed significantly as a result of construction-sector conditions, supply pressures and inflation.
Several capital schemes across the authority have required additional support since early summer, including Cultural Kilmarnock, Galston Library, Kilmaurs Primary School and St Sophia’s Primary School.
The report notes that a full strategic review of the Council’s Capital Investment Programme is already underway, with the outcome due to be published in February 2026.
However, officers warned that waiting until next year could jeopardise progress on the three projects currently under strain.
Because the Chalmerston funding sits outside the active capital programme, officers believe it can be used without disrupting other planned investments.
The money is described as a temporary buffer while a longer-term rebalancing of the capital portfolio is completed.
The report indicates that the council will return to the broader investment strategy early in 2026, when it outlines how it intends to manage financial pressures across its full capital estate.`