Community Campus prepares to open its doors
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Finishing touches are now under way at the £55m Inverurie Community Campus ahead of it's first opening to the public.
The facility will first open its doors on Wednesday, September 30 when its swimming pool will become available for online bookings.
A practical completion certificate was issued by the independent tester last week, meaning building work has been completed, allowing for snagging and for preparations to commence for the transition of Aberdeenshire Council employees and services.
The Aberdeenshire Council project is being delivered through developers’ hub North Scotland and built by Robertson who have been working to an agreed set of safe operating procedures since work re-mobilised earlier this summer.
Construction activities will soon switch to the demolition of the old facilities and the completion of the external works, including new outdoor all-weather pitches.
The impressive new campus will become home to Inverurie Academy following the October holiday break.
The planned school closure dates for pupils (subject to national approval) will take place on the last day of term. Friday October 9 and first day back Monday, October 26 to allow for the move to take place and then pupils will be welcomed back on Tuesday, October 27 to fantastic new surroundings.
St Andrew’s School pupils will be able to enjoy an enhanced transition programme with a number of visits planned before they officially move into the building in November.
The extensive community sports and leisure facilities which will be on offer at the campus, once all works are complete, include a six-lane swimming pool, a multi-use games area and two all-weather pitches.
The facilities on offer will be a valued space for pupils and residents alike.
The campus’ sports and leisure facilities will be run by Live Life Aberdeenshire on behalf of Aberdeenshire Council.
The online booking facility for the pool will open on September 24, on the Live Life Aberdeenshire website at: http://bit.ly/SPAbook
While the pool will open from September 30, a full opening of the community facilities will be confirmed in due course.
Swimming lessons across Aberdeenshire continue to be suspended until such time as these can be offered safely. Further details on a full public programme of access will become available in due course.
Councillor Gillian Owen, chair of Aberdeenshire’s education and children’s services committee welcomed the news saying: “We are very excited opening dates have been set and that the local community will soon be able to make use of this modern, dynamic new facility.
"It will be a huge asset for our school pupils, for our staff and of course the wider public.
"Many thanks to all the teams who have worked so hard to get the project to this stage.”
Councillor Anne Stirling, chair of Aberdeenshire's communities committee, added: “Inverurie Community Campus is testament to Aberdeenshire Council’s commitment to investing in our communities.
"Projects like these help to make our wonderful local area a great place in which to live and work and help us to promote active lifestyles through Live Life Aberdeenshire.
"I would encourage everyone to find out more about accessing these excellent facilities.”
Kirsty O’Brien, the director heading the project for hub North Scotland, said: “We are delighted to have reached this point after a lot of hard work by all concerned.
"The campus has already delivered significant community benefits for Inverurie during construction and will continue to do so for years to come.”
Elliot Robertson, chief executive officer of Robertson, added: “As one of the largest school construction projects in Scotland, this £55m project will provide modern education, sports and community facilities for the area and is another milestone for Robertson in our delivery of contemporary, fit-for-purpose school projects.”
