Bourtreehill - Amenities

Amenities

Bourtreehill is home to a library which was originally sited in the Towerlands Gate area. This original library was quite small, and also both users and library staff had concerns about the possibility of their cars being vandalised. In 1996, the library moved to a site directly next to the British Telecom exchange building in Cheviot Way. This custom built building cost 280,000 pounds sterling to build, and has since been vandalised on numerous occasions.

There are no public houses in Bourtreehill since both the But 'n' Ben and The Village Inn closed. There is, however, a Sports club located to the north of the village centre.

The demolition of the Towerlands Gate Complex resulted in a limited number shops available within the estate the village centre has a small shopping complex which provides a basic service for the community. It includes stores ranging from a Small Supermarket, a newsagent with an internal sub post office, bookmaker, Chinese Take-Away and chemists and a hair dressers. Although a small News Agent/Grocery Store has opened up in the Towerlands Gate area on the Site of the former But'n'Ben

There is also a community centre in the old Towerlands Farm. The farm had lain derelict for a number of years until it was refurbished. A group was set up called BABCA (Bourtreehill and Broomlands Community Association), and the community centre is used for various activities. BABCA at one point used to issue an irregular local newsletter making residents of the Bourtreehill and Broomlands area aware of coming events in the community centre and local issues which might affect them. This practice seems to have stopped some years ago.

The local Health Centre is located in Cheviot Way. There has been a Health Centre in Cheviot Way for many years. Originally it was a small prefabricated building which was situated just a short distance down the road across from the Telecom building where there is now a sheltered housing complex. Now it is in a newer, larger building with other facilities, including a dentist.

The Irvine New Town Trail is a cycle and pedestrian route which passes through Bourtreehill, giving relatively 'car free' access to Girdle Toll, Eglinton Country Park, Broomlands, Springside, Kilmarnock and beyond.