Published on:
01
September 2017
Plans for the construction of a Tullibody South Campus, incorporating a new build of Abercromby PS, the nursery and a relocation and new build of St Bernadette's RC PS within the grounds of Abercromby PS have taken a step forward this week.
Council agreed to advanced works to be undertaken with temporary accommodation being erected early in September 2017 at a meeting yesterday.
Councillors agreed the outline design for the new campus building today and were also informed of the appointment of Hub East Central Scotland (Amber Blue) to develop a design and build project for the Tullibody South Campus as well as a Design Team.
Councillors heard that a series of workshops have been held with staff from Abercromby Primary, St Bernadette's RC Primary and Abercromby Nursery. Meetings have also been held with both Abercromby and St Bernadette's Parent Council and Tullibody Community Council.
Two meetings of a Stakeholder's Group have been held, incorporating school representatives plus representatives from the Tullibody community and the Roman Catholic Church.
Visits to other shared campuses in Fife and Stirling have been undertaken and future visits are planned to Dundee and Perth and Kinross. This has given an opportunity for questions to be answered and ideas to be added to the design brief.
The proposed design reflects the fact that St Bernadette's RC Primary School, Abercromby Primary School and the nursery will continue to exist as separate entities within the campus, each having their own staff, management teams, budgets, ethos and visions. They will share facilities such as outdoor learning space, toilets, meeting rooms, games hall and dining facilities.
The nursery will enable provision of 1140 hours to be delivered in August 2019 ahead of the Scottish Government implementation date in 2020.
The shared campus will include meeting rooms, a library, IT facilities and sports facilities which will be available for community use.
As part of the pre-planning application, the views of all stakeholders regarding the design and configuration for this development will be sought. In order to give the local community an opportunity to view the plans and find out more about the traffic management plans and the school travel plan there will be an information evening in Abercromby Primary School on 14th September 2017 from 3.30pm to 7.30pm.
The full planning application will be submitted later in the year and will be considered by the Council's Planning Committee. If planning permission is granted then it is intended that work on site will begin in April 2018 and that the school will be ready to be occupied in August 2019.
Education spokesperson Cllr Graham Lindsay said: "I am delighted to see these outlines designs being agreed which represent a £15million investment in the future of education in Tullibody. The need for this new campus is absolutely clear and we owe it the children in the community to move this project forward. The construction of a new Abercromby Primary, Abercromby Nursery and a new St Bernadette's RC Primary within the grounds of Abercromby Primary was the overwhelming choice of the local community in the public consultation. I would like to emphasise that we will continue to provide opportunities for these communities to give their views and engage with the design process and I encourage all interested parties to go along to the forthcoming information evening."