CAMPAIGNERS who want to save the crumbling Station Hotel have criticised a recent public consultation.

The Save the Station Hotel group run by Esther Clark wanted an extension and the option of a paper format for the online-only survey.

Esther believes that the timing of consultation was off, with the coronavirus pandemic dominating the headlines.

The survey by South Ayrshire Council ran from August 24 to September 14, with the public being asked their views as part of a feasibility study.

But Esther believes three weeks was not enough time to allow the public to make their decision.

As part of her campaign she wanted to display posters at the Grain Exchange but was unable to do this.

By the time she was given assistance to get the campaigns message out, there was only one week left of the survey.

She told the Advertiser: “I only found out the survey was going ahead on the Friday and then it started on the Monday.

“We asked for somewhere to show photographs which show the magnificent interior of the hotel taken in 2018 but we didn’t get the chance to do that.

“I also asked if they can have a paper survey for people who don’t have access to the internet but I still haven’t heard back from anyone.

“It looks rushed, and it’s not a great time to have this during a pandemic.”

Esther wrote a letter to South Ayrshire Council’s task force on the hotel asking if a paper survey could be issued, which had been prepared by the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust two years ago.

The letter reads: “I hope that your Group will consider using the paper questionnaire prepared by Scottish Historic Buildings Trust, administered by Kyle & Carrick Civic Society, distributed by us to community orgs and sent in by them or individuals directly to the Trust.

But South Ayrshire Council are satisfied with the survey.

A spokesperson said: “Thank you to all those who took part in the survey, we have had over 1,200 responses, with over 500 people responding in the first week. The survey ran for three weeks to fit in with the timescales for the feasibility study. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, it was not possible to have a hard copy of the survey or drop in sessions, but we are confident we have captured a wide range of views.”