Funding bid for new Kilmarnock school campus rejected

East Ayrshire Council’s Chief Financial Officer, Joe McLachlan, broke the bad news at the council’s Governance and Scrutiny Committee last week.

A year ago the council agreed to make a bid to the Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) for an ’inclusive educational development in North West Kilmarnock’ on the sites of Mount Carmel Primary and Onthank Primary and Early Childhood Centre.

The new proposal would see the relocation of Willowbank School to the current Onthank Campus, the creation of an additional Early Years Transition Facility within the relocated school, and a new Early Childhood Centre at Mount Carmel Primary School.

In October 2022, the project was estimated to cost £48.5m, with the bill split between the council and Scottish Government.

With other projects seeing significant increases in capital costs over the last year, this figure was expected to have risen.

The council had initially hoped for a decision around funding to be announced by the end of 2022. However, the decision comes more than a year after the bid was agreed.

At the time the council admitted that, should it fail in its bid, the project would need to be reconsidered.

It also discussed the future investment in Hillhead Primary in Kilmarnock and Lainshaw Primary in Stewarton.

Improvements were identified in both schools, but no decision was taken pending the outcome of the campus bid.

They said: “If the bid for North West Kilmarnock is not successful, the council will need to re-evaluate the project, along with plans for Hillhead and Lainshaw to ensure that priorities can be delivered within an agreed, affordable budget.

“The council’s Capital Investment Programme includes capital funding for Hillhead Primary in Kilmarnock and Lainshaw Primary in Stewarton, which have both been identified as a priority for investment.”

Labour Councillor Elaine Stewart asked whether officers were aware that, having been successful with bids in earlier rounds of LEIF, they would not get selected in this latest round.

Mr McLachlan said that the bid was described as ‘really good’ by those determining the LEIF money, and that it met the criteria.

However, he added: “What the notification did say was that, because of the prioritisation of other projects that were successful, then they were given the award.

“There was reference to East Ayrshire having received money in LEIP two, but that this was not a reason why we didn’t get LEIP three.

“It was more a case that there were others in the chain ahead of us.”

Cllr Stewart also asked if there were  grounds for appeal, but Mr McLachlan said he wasn’t aware of any such grounds.

Head of Facilities, Andrew Kennedy, added that the Scottish Government may have ‘slimmed down’ the phase three funds because of the additional pressure of increasing costs and payments from the last round.

SNP Councillor David Richardson pointed out the work required in his ward and asked officers when they would know what they could do at the schools in his ward.

Mr McLachlan replied that officers had always planned a review of the capital programme, whether or not they were successful in their campus bid.

This was centred around the cap that councillors agreed at February’s budget meeting of eight percent of the council’s revenue funds.

He said that current situation has made the list of projects that had been drawn up ‘challenging’ and required the council to look at those projects that were of highest priority.