Early plans for the new Doon Valley Community Campus in Dalmellington are starting to take shape and the local community will be given a chance to find out more at an online engagement event next week.
Council officers have decided that the preferred location for the new £30 million Doon Valley Community Campus is the site of the current Doon Academy, Dalmellington Primary School and Early Childhood Centre, the Doon Valley Leisure Centre and the site of the existing Dalmellington Area Centre.
They say: “There is a collective vision for this campus to become the ‘beating heart of the community’ and community engagement will sit at the heart of these proposals.”
There is an emphasis on inclusion in the design approach, with council officials saying they want to maximise opportunities for sharing facilities that support education, health and wellbeing, sports excellence, the arts, culture and events, community integration and lifelong learning.
With that in mind, some spaces at the campus will be open as ‘flexible workspaces’ for the use of public services and other parts of the campus will be used for civic functions such as clinical, counselling or therapeutic sessions, third sector commissioned services and a small enterprise café, as well as a community hub for “improved intergenerational interactions from babies to older people”.
There will be space for 510 students to study at the campus, which will incorporate a primary, and secondary, as well as ASN provision.
They propose outdoor educational and recreational spaces for all and a sensory therapeutic garden, connecting the indoor and outdoor settings. As well as this, they say there will be recreational facilities available for use by students and the wider community.
Facilities will include swimming pool, fitness suite, boxing ring, multipurpose fitness studio and a hub for outdoor activity.
With procurement processes and planning still to be completed, building work is not expected to commence until summer 2023. The new school is scheduled for completion in time for pupils to start August 2025.
The community event will take place online on Wednesday, April 14 6.30 - 8pm. To register your interest at the event, email: vibrantcommunities@east-ayrshire.gov.uk
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