The NRA's efforts were later recognised with the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service,

When Newmilns and Greenholm published its first Community Action Plan in 2014, residents set out a long list of hopes for the town. Eight years on, the new 2022–2027 plan looks back at what has been done – and the list is impressive.
Much of the work was led by the Newmilns Regeneration Association (NRA), set up in 2014 specifically to take the first plan forward. The NRA's efforts were later recognised with the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, the highest honour a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
Perhaps the most visible success is the old Post Office in Brown Street. The NRA refurbished the building and turned it into a Community, Heritage and Tourism Hub, which local groups can now use for meetings and events.
The town's appearance has had attention too. New planters, benches and litter bins have been installed, and they are looked after by volunteers from the NRA, the Community Council and the local tenants and residents associations, along with other flower beds and gardens. Organised litter picks and clean-ups have tackled green spaces including Jacob's Ladder.
The events calendar has grown. Newmilns now hosts a Food Festival, Christmas Fayres, a New Year Ceilidh, an Easter Egg Hunt, Gillfoot's "G in the Park" and the Gala. At the Newmilns Snow and Sports Complex, a new tubing slope has opened and regular organised events are held. Christmas displays have brightened the Kirkgate Gardens and the Morton Hall.
Newmilns and Greenholm also became the first area in East Ayrshire where the council adopted Placemaking, an approach that puts residents' views at the centre of how a place is planned and improved.
The NRA created the "Love Newmilns" brand on social media to share news about the town, and worked with the other valley towns to produce the Irvine Valley business directory.
Not every campaign succeeded. The community petitioned the Scottish Government to keep the town's bank open, but the bid failed.
Other work is ongoing. Groups have continued to press East Ayrshire Council on restoring historic buildings, including the Town House, and on buildings and land seen as a blight on the town. They have worked with the council, ward councillors and local businesses on the potential of the former Vesuvius factory site to create jobs, and promoted the conversion of flats at Gilfoot into three-bedroom houses.
The new plan makes clear the NRA never worked alone. The achievements belong to the many groups, businesses and volunteers who have played their part – and the plan hopes many more will join them.