TROON GOING OUT GUIDE

It is my very great pleasure to advise you that, on Wednesday 3 February, I was elected as Leader of South Ayrshire Council, replacing my colleague Hugh Hunter who retired from the position on the same day.

At time of writing, it's day 10 in this role and I can assure you I have had to hit the ground running! My first priority was the Council's budget for 2010-11, which was approved at a special Council meeting on 10 February. For residents of South Ayrshire, this means Council Tax will be frozen at the 2007/08 levels for the third year in a row, which is good news for everyone. It also means significant investment in a number of key areas including schools and education; care and support for younger, older and vulnerable people; roads and lighting.

Some of the benefits to Troon in particular include improvements to Troon Concert Hall and office complex, strengthening of the Craig Road bridge and improved lighting in the Muirhead area - all of which will be very welcome I'm sure. Of course, it's not everything we want to do - but it's a significant step forward and we will continue to build on this over the coming weeks and months.

While very busy as Leader of the Council, I continue to be a very active local Councillor and the switch in my role from Portfolio Holder for Resource and Performance to Leader does not change that. In fact it's a move that is a natural progression.

As your local Councillor, I work to represent our local community to the best of my abilities and as Council Leader, I'm doing exactly the same for the whole of South Ayrshire. I'm committed to continuing the joint cross-party working that this Council has made such a success and I'll do everything I can to ensure continuous collaboration genuinely works for our communities.

That's what being a Councillor is all about and I am very proud to be your Councillor and represent the Troon ward.

Councillor Bill McIntosh

A MONTH IS A LONG TIME IN POLITICS

This time last month, I was reflecting on the bad weather we had encountered recently and now, a month later, I am Leader of South Ayrshire Council. It has all been a bit of a blur - on 25th January, I became Leader of the Conservative Group on the Council, on 3rd February I became Leader of the Council, and on 10th February I presented the 2010/11 Budget to the Council.

My previous role in Council land was as Portfolio Holder for Resource and Performance, with my responsibilities spanning the Council's finances, all of our buildings and assets, all employees, procurement, and information technology. All very important, but not very high profile, and not resulting in my photo appearing in the Press very often. My new role is a wee bit different in that regard. In addition to the countless meetings I have attended, I have had media briefings, radio interviews, interviews with the local press, and I even got a wee mention in The Herald. I have met with John Scott, our local MSP, Sandra Osborne MP, First Minister Alex Salmond and Michael O'Leary of Ryanair. I met the latter two at the recent event at Prestwick Airport to announce the building of a new hangar for Ryanair planes, which is good news for the local economy with the extra jobs this will bring. Both Alex and Michael will be kicking themselves, as I had to leave early for a meeting with Trades Unions representatives in the Council, which meant that neither of them had the time to ask for my autograph. Maybe next time.

Next week my busy schedule continues, with visits to both GE Caledonian and BAe Systems, as part of the Joint Ayrshire Economic Regeneration Group. Next month I am off to St Andrews to represent the Council at the annual COSLA Convention, then on to a Chamber of Commerce dinner at Ayr Racecourse. When this flurry of political activity first started, I said to my wife, "If I go ahead with this, I'll be pretty busy." She replied, "I never see you anyway, so go ahead." The last time I saw her she was on the internet, trying to book us a holiday so that we can have a chat somewhere. Oh dear, the burden of high office.

On a more serious note, we were dismayed by the announcement recently that it is intended to remove Search and Rescue Helicopter operations from HMS Gannet to Glasgow in 2012. In Council land, we are working with MPs, MSPs and others, to address this serious challenge and see how we might reverse the decision. As I write this, I tabled a motion at a Special Meeting of the Council to-day, confirming the Council's support for the retention of the Search and Rescue Service at HMS Gannet, and committing the Council to do its best to have the decision reversed.

To end on a bright note, in fact two bright notes, I have just heard that Troon has been awarded Fair Trade status, and I take my hat off to everyone who has worked to bring this about. Well done all of you. The other bright note is that my good friends David and Helen Kelly have now been given the Troon Citizens of the Year Award. Congratulations to you both - you deserve it.

Bill McIntosh