Netherthird
This is a fairly new community of under 70 years of age. The first houses were built at Skerrington, with the bulk of the houses in Netherthird commencing in 1951.
The estate was built mainly to re-house families from the outlying villages of Skares and Glengyron that were being demolished. The houses were also required to provide accommodation for miners and their families coming into the area from Fife and Lanark to man the new deep mines at Barony and Killoch, now long since closed.
The area sits on the southernmost outskirts of Cumnock surrounded by open countryside and farmland. The farms are made up mostly of mixed farms i.e. cattle, sheep and crops. Glaisnock Water and Holm Burn provide a habitat for fish, amphibians and insects. Barshare Wood, Velvetere Wood near Glaisnock House and Ryderston Belt are some of several wooded areas which provide habitat for local wildlife and birds. Barshare Wood is mostly made up of pine trees and is home to rabbits and wood pigeons. It is next to a river walk which has a variety of plants and trees surrounding it which encourages a variety of different birds to the area.
The population of the area currently served by the Netherthird & District Community Council stands at 2499. There are few empty houses and larger house sizes have lower occupancy than in the past, however the construction of two new developments has enabled the population to remain fairly stable. The Community Action Plan Steering Group identified 1044 residential properties within the area. The social housing stock is 50-60 years old with the exception of James Young Avenue, which is younger. The majority of the social housing stock is managed by Shire Housing Association with the remainder managed by East Ayrshire Council and a small minority by private landlords. As the area was built to house larger families apart from the elderly complex, only a small quantity of three apartments are available.