Plans unveiled for Cumnock Area Leisure Hub

Proposals for the creation of a Cumnock Area Leisure Hub will be considered by councillors at an East Ayrshire Council Cabinet meeting later this week.

If approved, the Hub in Cumnock would see East Ayrshire Council and East Ayrshire Leisure Trust collaborating with local communities and sports groups to coordinate sports and cultural provision across the Cumnock area.

With the new £69m Barony Campus opening to secondary pupils this week, the local community will immediately benefit from some of the finest sports and community facilities in the country, including indoor sports halls, a dance studio, national standard rugby pitches, synthetic grass and grass pitches and a 4 lane athletics track. The campus also includes a 550 seat concert hall and a range of educational facilities that can be accessed by the community.

The Sports Village at the Barony Campus would sit at the heart of the Cumnock Leisure Hub and proposals presented to Councillors outline plans to incorporate other existing sporting, leisure and cultural facilities in the area within the Hub, including Visions Leisure Centre, Auchinleck Synthetic Grass Pitches, Merlin Park football grounds, Cumnock Area path network, Auchinleck Boswell Centre and Library, The Baird Institute, Cumnock Town Hall and Cumnock Library.

The proposals also offer excellent opportunities to enhance the existing high profile cultural offer within the Cumnock area provided by East Ayrshire Leisure, The Cumnock Tryst, Boswell Book Festival, Centrestage and East Ayrshire Council Instrumental Music Service. Barony Hall within the Barony Campus provides state-of-the-art facilities and the perfect backdrop for hosting local, regional and national events to boost the area’s reputation as a key location for cultural events and tourism.

Councillor Elena Whitham, Chair of East Ayrshire Leisure Trust and Depute Leader of East Ayrshire Council welcomed the report.

She said: “The new school campus has been the catalyst for most of these proposals as it presented us with an opportunity to review what amenities were already in existence in the area and to consider how we can enhance provision, in a well-managed, and more efficient manner, taking full advantage of what the Cumnock area has to offer for residents and visitors alike.

“The proposals being considered by Cabinet this week have been developed in partnership with key stakeholders from the local sporting community including Auchinleck Leisure Centre, Cumnock Juniors Enterprise Company and Cumnock and District Leisure Group who manage Visions Leisure Centre.

“Their contributions to date have been invaluable, in terms of helping to shape these outline plans, and we look forward to engaging further with them and other interested parties to ensure we create an exciting sporting legacy for the area.”

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View the Cabinet report.