Posted: Monday 8 November 2010

Planning process under way for new College

-Clearing the way for future town centre development-

Important steps have been taken to meet the strict timetable for funding a new Kilmarnock College and to clear the way for future development of Kilmarnock town centre.

Complementary Proposal of Application Notices have been lodged by Kilmarnock College and Diageo to change the use of the company's 23 acre Hill Street site from industrial to mixed use, particularly including education.

The submission of Planning Application Notices to East Ayrshire Council are the important steps in supporting a Kilmarnock College application to the Scottish Funding Council to finance a new building on the southern end of the site, after the Diageo plant closes in 2012.

The proposed redevelopment of the site will also seek to complement the aims of a new integrated Urban Development Plan, commissioned by Make it Kilmarnock, to guide future development of the town.

Public consultation on the proposed redevelopment of the Hill Street site will link into a wider community engagement programme in which local people and organisations will be able to have their say in the future of Kilmarnock and, in particular, the structure, shape and content of the town centre.

Heather Dunk, Principal of Kilmarnock College, said: "We are working to a very tight timeframe and have an enormous amount of work ahead of us to ensure that we submit the strongest possible business case for funding the new College.

"Lodging these Notices now will enable us to conduct essential public consultation on our proposals, in parallel with Make it Kilmarnock's intensive programme of public engagement to create a new strategic Urban Plan for Kilmarnock. The College and Diageo are working together to ensure an integrated approach to the redevelopment of Hill Street."

Pauline Rooney, Diageo Site Director, said: "We have agreed in principle to donate some 10 acres for a new College campus and we have been working closely with the College and its advisers to facilitate and support its ambitions as best we can.

"The plant will not close until 2012, but we are taking measures now to ensure that the College funding application is progressed and that we open the way to a wide range of potential future uses for the land that will support the aims of a new Urban Development Plan."
Douglas Reid, Leader of East Ayrshire Council and Chair of the Make it Kilmarnock Strategic Advisory Board, said:

"While I am not in a position to comment on a specific planning application, I am very pleased to see such a significant step being taken towards the relocation of the College.

"A new College is key to our ambitions for revitalising the town centre and we are doing all we can to assist in preparing the case for funding the new campus.

"Over the coming months there will be extensive public consultation to inform a new, integrated development plan for the town which will set the redevelopment of Hill Street in a wider town context."

-Ends-

Notes to editors

The submission of a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) to East Ayrshire Council is the first stage of a planning process and will be followed by an application for Planning Permission in Principle for mixed use development, with a wide range of potential future uses, to facilitate the delivery of a new Integrated Urban Development Plan commissioned by Make it Kilmarnock.

Make it Kilmarnock is a public-private sector initiative leading a strategic approach to sustaining and re-energising the local economy. Make it Kilmarnock, which comprises local and national politicians and business figures with Kilmarnock connections or specialist skills/knowledge, is taking a strategic, long term view of the future - with early action an essential part of its remit. It has started with four inter-linking economic themes:

• Kilmarnock's Vibrant Heart: A town centre that is lively, appealing, attractive, and safe for residents and visitors
• Business nurture: A business community that is engaged, encouraged, accommodated, respected
• Visitor economy: A rounded, high quality visitor experience building on heritage, culture, shopping and hospitality
• Education innovation: A lifelong learning community with unique opportunities for study with best in class facilities

For further information, contact:

Kilmarnock College Joanna Wilson (Beattie Communications) 01698 787847

Make it Kilmarnock Julie Haig 01563 576 096

Colin Liddell Diageo 0141 221 5775

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