4 days ago
Councillors to decide on £100m East Ayrshire school investment
The programme of refurbishment, extensions and rebuilds would cover more than a dozen East Ayrshire schools.
East Ayrshire Council has unveiled a five‑year investment £100 million plan to refurbish, extend or rebuild more than a dozen schools, as well as delivering Scotland's first EnerPHit‑certified primary in Galston.
The blueprint is set to go before the council's Cabinet on Wednesday ( June 18) as part of its Learning Estate Management Plan 2023‑24.
The 85‑page report shows all but one of the area's 54 learning establishments are now in A‑ or B‑rated condition (13 'good', 40 'satisfactory' and only St Sophia's temporarily classed C while its deep‑retrofit is completed).
Suitability has climbed too, with 26 schools rated 'excellent' and 18 'good'.
However, pupil numbers remain below the council's 85 per cent occupancy target, averaging 78.8 per cent in primaries and 75 per cent in secondaries.
The increasing population in the north of the authority is seeing the greatest pressure on schools, with Annanhill in Kilmarnock, Lainshaw and Stewarton primaries all above 90 per cent.
And Stewarton Academy has hit 87 per cent — pressure the council hopes to ease with a £20.5 million extension and ASN wing due to start next year.
Further refurbishments are pencilled in for Logan, Dunlop, Mount Carmel, Nether Robertland and Loudoun Academy, while Lainshaw Primary will gain a four‑class extension and new drop‑off loop to meet 'unprecedented' housing‑driven growth.
The plan flags a 'rapidly changing profile' of additional‑support‑needs pupils: with 31 per cent of East Ayrshire children having an ASN record, and specialist placements up 153 per cent since 2017.
Officials say every major project will follow Scotland's Learning Estate Strategy and the council's own net‑zero roadmap.
St Sophia's EnerPHit pilot, which has received £4.3 m in Scottish Government funding, is expected to cut heating demand by up to 80 per cent and provide a template for other retrofits.
If Cabinet approves the priorities, detailed design work will begin over the summer so contractors can break ground early in the 2025/26 financial year.
