Three proposals considered for Kilmarnock's Galleon Centre

At the final East Ayrshire Council meeting of 2023, councillors heard that officers were evaluating proposals that will provide increasing levels of "intervention" to address issues such as the condition of the centre and the changing needs of local people.

A year ago, the council agreed to restart the refurbishment and repurposing of the Galleon, with several proposals made.

The report to the council said that a detailed stage one design report had identified "three emerging feasibility options based on a tiered approach for increasing levels of intervention."

It added that information contained within the Stage 1 report is currently being reviewed and a further update report will be presented to members in due course.

The project will also take into account a review of leisure-related services, agreed by the council in October.

The December 2022 proposals for the Galleon included a new gym and fitness suite, health suite and café, kids zone, meeting facilities and upgrades to pools, changing rooms, ice rink and bowling hall.

However, the rising costs of between £20million to £25million meant that not all of the proposals would be feasible.

A tentative timescale suggests that the newly refurbished centre could be finished by December 2026.

The need to improve the Galleon followed an assessment in 2018 that highlighted the deterioration of the building, which was opened in 1987.

At the time, officials had recommended building a new centre at the Galleon site at an estimated cost of £33m.

In June 2019, councillors opted to refurbish and re-purpose the Galleon, with £13.85m allocated for the work, albeit recognising it would likely require additional funds.

This was confirmed later when the estimated cost was raised to £17.75m. The latest update shows that costs have risen once again to £20.6m, largely due to the impact of Covid, Brexit and rising energy costs.

The Galleon was significantly impacted by the pandemic through 2020, which effectively brought their income stream to a halt.

However, this did give the council an opportunity to re-evaluate the plans.

Councillor Iain Linton welcomed the progress being made.

He said: "It is really encouraging. I am particularly pleased that both the officers and the consultants have given significant weight to the input from the Galleon manager.

"It's really interesting to see just exactly what's going on and how the changes will come. I think it's a really exciting time.

"The building is tired, as we all know, and needs significant refurbishment. It's just a case of getting that decision absolutely right.

"I think we've had a really good start and I'm incredibly encouraged that we're on the right lines.”

Officers are reviewing the proposals and will report back to councillors with options for the programme.