Work is set to start this month on the next phase of redevelopment at Ayr Rugby Club's home ground in Alloway. 

A new road from Murdoch’s Loan to Millbrae is to be built to improve access to the club's facilities for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. 

Work will also start later this year on new car parking and an all-weather pitch, due to be completed in the autumn.

South Ayrshire Council has now discharged the final planning conditions for the next stage of the development, and work is scheduled to start on March 11 or before.

It will be business as usual for the time being at Millbrae, with the clubhouse and 1st XV pitch unaffected during this phase of construction.

Safety fencing will be erected between the 1st XV and 2nd XV pitch and will remain in place until the new access road, car parking and all-weather pitch are completed in late autumn 2024.

The upgrade work was made possible with funding from the Macdonald Legacy, set up by Alan Macdonald in memory of his son, former Ayr player Barry Macdonald, who died suddenly in 2020.

Brian Williamson, Ayr Rugby Football Club president, said: “This is a momentous moment for our club and the wider community.

"By the end of this year we will have vastly improved access, an all-weather multi-use sports pitch and new low energy floodlighting.

"This has all been made possible by the generosity of the Macdonald Legacy in memory of Barry Macdonald and the unwavering support given by Alan Macdonald.”

The project team are now focusing on the plans for phase three which encompasses the clubhouse, café, gym, changing facilities and spectator stand.

Mr Williamson added: “We will be in a position to reveal plans for phase three soon and will be organising events to raise the funds required to complete the project.”

The works are the first steps in a wider multi-million pound redevelopment of Millbrae which are set to include an all-weather multi-sport pitch, new changing and training facilities, a community gym, clubhouse, function room and children’s play area.

Thanks to funding from the Macdonald Legacy, the club also completed the purchase of Dam Park Stadium in Ayr last year.

It plans to use the site - previously the temporary home of Whitletts Victoria FC, and venue for a range of school and community athletics events since it was built in the early 1960s - as a hub for a range of sporting and community activities.

Dam Park, which became surplus to the council's requirements when the new £8.5 million Riverside Sports Arena was completed a year ago, will also provide an additional playing area for the club when the third phase of Millbrae's redevelopment gets under way.

Whitletts Vics moved to a new ground at New Voluntary Park in Glenmuir Place in November, three months after their final match at Dam Park.