Doonfoot is a suburb in the south-west of Ayr,

South Ayrshire South Ayrshire ( sco, Sooth Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir a Deas, ) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. On 30 June ...

History

The area known as Doonfoot was incorporated as part of the town of Ayr when the former Burgh of Ayr's boundaries were expanded in 1935 to take in the former villages of Alloway and Whitletts. Politically, since 1997 the area south of the Slaphouse Burn had been part of the Carrick, Cumnock & Doon Valley parliamentary constituency as opposed to the

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

constituency. This also applied in the suburb of Alloway. Boundaries for

UK Parliament constituencies The Parliament of the United Kingdom currently has 650 parliamentary constituencies across the constituent countries (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), each electing a single member of parliament (MP) to the House of Commons by th ...

were changed again in 2005, and Doonfoot was

reunited Reunited may refer to: Music *Reunited Tour, a 2004 concert tour by Judas Priest Albums * ''Reunited'' (Gaither Vocal Band album), 2009 * ''Reunited'' (Gloria Jones album), 1982 * ''Reunited'' (Highway 101 album), 1996 * ''Reunited'' (The Jets al ...

with Ayr, but the division persisted in the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holy ...

. This was unpopular locally, and former

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

Phil Gallie Philip Roy Gallie (3 June 1939 – 24 January 2011) was a British Conservative Party politician. He served in the British House of Commons as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayr from 1992 to 1997, and then as a Member of the Scottish Parlia ...

challenged this in court by way of a

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incom ...

but this was unsuccessful. In 2008 there were many new houses built in Doonfoot, expanding the population substantially. It was not until the first periodic review of Scottish parliamentary boundaries prior to the

2011 Scottish Parliament election The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the Additional M ...

that Doonfoot and Alloway were transferred back to the

constituency along with

Forehill Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

, Masonhill and

Kincaidston Kincaidston is a housing scheme in the town of Ayr in South Ayrshire, Scotland. The estate borders Belmont to the north, Alloway to the west and the A77 to the south and east. History The estate was built in the 1970s. It was built by K ...

. This now forms part of the current political boundaries of the Ayr constituency which encompasses the electoral wards of Troon, Prestwick, Ayr North, Ayr East and Ayr West. At the same time, the electoral ward of Kyle was transferred from the former Ayr constituency to Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley. At the 2003 South Ayrshire Council election the Doonfoot and Seafield electoral ward returned the largest

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

vote in Scotland, with Conservative Councillor Cherry Young winning with 77.63% of the vote. In the Scottish Parliament, the area is represented by SNP MSP

Siobhian Brown Siobhian Brown (born 20 October 1972) is a Scottish politician serving as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Ayr since 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she was a councillor for the Ayr West ward of South Ayrshire ...

as part of the

constituency. At Westminster, Doonfoot is represented by

Allan Dorans Allan Hopkins Dorans (born 30 July 1955) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock since the 2019 general election. He is the vice dean of Ayr Guildry. Dorans was ...

of the Scottish National Party as part of the

Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock Ayr, Carrick, and Cumnock is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the 2005 general election from parts of the old Ayr and Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley cons ...

constituency.

Features

Doonfoot contains a primary school, a play park, and a local convenience shop. There are also plans for a new retirement home and community centre to be built along the Dunure Road sometime in the near future. Belleisle Park, one of the largest parks in Ayr, borders Doonfoot. It contains two municipal

golf courses A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

run by

South Ayrshire Council South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

, Seafield and Belleisle. The latter was designed by James Braid and has hosted the Scottish Open and a number of amateur tournaments. It is often cited as one of the best public courses in Scotland, after courses such as

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's four ...

and

Carnoustie Carnoustie (; sco, Carnoustie, gd, Càrn Ùstaidh) is a town and former police burgh in the subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland. It is at the mouth of the Barry Burn on the North Sea coast. In the UK census 2011, 2011 ce ...

. The park also houses a number of animals, including

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the ...

and an

aviary An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages. A ...

. There is also a walled garden with a

sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a fl ...

in the middle, and a large glasshouse which contains tropical plants. Doonfoot extends westwards from the

River Doon The River Doon ( gd, Abhainn Dhùin, ) is a river in Ayrshire, Scotland. Its course is generally north-westerly, passing near to the town of Dalmellington, and through the villages of Patna, Dalrymple, and Alloway, birthplace of Robert Burns. ...

to the ruin of

Greenan Castle Greenan Castle is a 16th-century ruined tower house, around southwest of Ayr in South Ayrshire, Scotland. Situated at the top of a sea cliff, it was originally a promontory fort converted into a motte-and-bailey in the 12th century. In the 15th ...

, overlooking the

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

. The island of

Arran Arran may refer to: Places * Isle of Arran, Scotland * Aran Islands, County Galway, Ireland * Arranmore, County Donegal, Ireland, also known in English as Aran Island * Arran (Caucasus), or Caucasian Albania, a historical region * Arran, Sask ...

is clearly visible across the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

from many points throughout Doonfoot. The beach at Doonfoot is popular in summer but, like many beaches along the

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine, North Ayrshi ...

coast, has failed to meet

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

standards for cleanliness under the Blue Flag scheme.

References

External links

Alloway & Doonfoot Community Council

Doonfoot Primary School

Belleisle Golf Course

About Ayr
- About Ayr, South Ayrshire Council website information about Ayr
South Ayrshire Council
- South Ayrshire Council's website contains comprehensive information about the services provided by the Council {{South Ayrshire Areas of Ayr