Douglas Campbell

Cllr Campbell, who will continue serving his Ayr North ward, admitted the decision had been taken with “sadness” and added he was “looking forward” to working with his successor.

A statement on the council website does not outline the reasons for his departure but Mr Campbell later confirmed: “My reasons for standing down as leader are increased family commitments.”

The statement reads: “It is with sadness that I announce my decision to step down as leader of South Ayrshire Council, a role which it has been my great privilege to fulfil over the last three years. 

“My focus as council leader has always been to make a difference to the lives of the people of South Ayrshire and in particular to help those who need us most.

“I’m proud of the ambitions that we set out in our council plan and of the significant progress we have made so far.

“We’ve made South Ayrshire a better place to live, where people can grow, live and age well.

“We have transformed the learning experience for our young people, creating new and improved state-of-the-art schools and Early Years Centres.

“We’ve approved a buildings improvement plan that will continue to renew our school estate and will also significantly modernise leisure and sporting provision.

“External inspections of our services have shown steady and continuing improvement over the last three years, particularly in our social work services, which is a credit to staff across the organisation.

“We’ve created a much more adaptable and engaging organisation which has ensured our ability to rise to the challenges presented by the COVID pandemic.  The outstanding support employees have given to our communities, especially the most vulnerable, over the last few months has been nothing short of amazing. 

“I would like to thank my fellow councillors for their support and hard work over the last three years.  

“I would also like to extend my gratitude to chief executive Eileen Howat, the corporate leadership team and to all the fantastic employees of the council who really do make a difference to our communities every day.

“In addition to my role as leader, I have been honoured to serve the people of Ayr North and I will continue to represent them as their local councillor.

“I’m proud of what we’ve achieved so far and look forward to working with my successor.”