Coastwatch Scotland is raising money to help renovate the Beach Pavilion in Irvine. This will greatly enhance the safety and security of members of the public when they visit the Irvine Beach, the Beach Park and the general harbour area.

We are a small band of volunteers providing eyes and ears along the North Ayrshire coast from Ardrossan to Troon, monitoring VHF marine radio channels, and providing a listening watch in poor visibility. Our objective is to assist in the preservation and protection of life at sea and along the coastline and in particular by the provision of a lookout station for the public benefit 365 days a year during daylight hours.

We provide a well stocked first aid station, run by fully trained volunteer first-aiders, to the standard of BHF BLS (Heartstart). Our base at the Beach Pavilion forms part of the Safer Shores Project which is a partnership of all the emergency services in North Ayrshire. We run a small tuck shop and public toilets during daylight hours when volunteers are available. (The toilets are presently closed due to Covid-19 restrictions). We have CCTV which covers the beach area and car parks and have a tannoy system alerting the public to unusual or emergency situations as they occur. Our volunteers have a wide variety of work experience and our ages range from 16 to 80. Some of our volunteers are retired or semi-retired, and we have a number of enthusiastic younger volunteers too. We presently have about 20 volunteers running the base working shifts as and when they are able.

We are looking for funds which will enable us to upgrade the Beach Pavilion. The Pavilion, originally built over 100 years ago with additional sections added over the years, requires major renovations to the toilets, the first-aid room, the offices and the shop. We are currently applying to North Ayrshire Council for the asset to be transferred to Coastwatch. All funds raised through "Just Giving" will be ring-fenced to pay for the renovations.

Covid-19 has affected our fund raising capacity in all areas of our work and that's why we are asking for help. Please give whatever you can to help us reach our goal of upgrading the Coastwatch Beach Pavilion.