Minister for Children and Young People visits Maybole Community Campus

Clare Haughey MSP, Minister for Children and Young People recently visited the construction site of the Maybole Community Campus.

The Minister was given a tour of the South Ayrshire site as the £50 million learning campus starts to take shape.

Work is progressing well, with one of the two all-weather pitches already in place and steelwork appearing on the town's skyline.

When complete, the new campus will have capacity for 1,370 pupils, and a new Early Years Centre will operate on site for 52 weeks of the year.

The campus will also appeal to the wider community, with new outdoor sports facilities, changing pavilion and a new indoor swimming pool which will be available for public use.

Clare Haughey, Minister for Children and Young People said: "We are continuing to work with Councils across the country to invest significant funding from the £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme to improve the condition of Scotland's learning estate.

"In South Ayrshire, the modern facilities planned as part of the new Maybole Community Campus will benefit not only children and young people, but also teaching and other school staff."

Councillor William Grant, Children and Young People Portfolio Holder for South Ayrshire Council said: "It's great that work is progressing. This is our biggest ever investment in a community campus and when it's completed next year, local children from two to 18 years of age will benefit from the new state-of-the-art learning facility.

"These are exciting times for Maybole, with the community campus well underway, the new bypass just opened and plans for the regeneration of the town's high street being put in place."

Michael Ross Chief Executive of hub South West Scotland, South Ayrshire Council's development partner, said: "This is our largest project for South Ayrshire Council to date, and I am sure it will provide first class educational and community facilities that will be enjoyed for generations to come.

"We are also very excited by the community and economic benefits that will be generated via this project, along with employment and apprenticeship opportunities that have been core to its development from the outset.

"As development partner we have successfully delivered over £122 million of projects for South Ayrshire Council and we work closely with the team to ensure our impressive collective track record is maintained.

"We now have over £600 million of education experience across south west Scotland and invest consistently with our Tier 1 contractors, design teams and supply chain in continuous improvements to achieve excellence in community education facilities in terms of value for money, quality and community outputs."

Stuart Parker, Managing Director of Morgan Sindall Construction Scotland said: "We were very excited to welcome the Minister to the site to see our progress on what is an important project for Maybole and the young people who reside in the town.

"By working collaboratively with South Ayrshire Council and hub South West, we are continuing with our commitment to deliver exceptional educational facilities and improve prospects for pupils in Scotland. The campus has also provided a fantastic opportunity for our Tigers apprentices to gain valuable experience on a project which is local to them and will have a huge impact on their community. They should feel extremely proud of what they have achieved so far, and we look forward to continuing to strengthen our relationship with the training provider."

The new campus is being built on the existing Carrick Academy site and will incorporate Carrick Academy, St Cuthbert's Primary and Culzean Primary School and Early years Centre, formed from the amalgamation of Cairn Primary and Gardenrose Primary schools.

The new campus is set to open in 2023.