Jedburgh intergenerational community campus wins government approval

The Scottish Government has this week given the go-ahead to Scottish Borders Council (SBC) to build the campus, and formally close the existing nursery, primary, secondary and specialist provision in the town.

The procedural decision by the government follows SBC planning committee’s approval of the planning application in January.

Both announcements mean that there are no legislatory barriers to the start of work on the Jedburgh intergenerational community campus which will replace Jedburgh Grammar, Howdenburn and Parkside primary schools, and will be located on land at Hartrigge Park.

The campus will have provision for nursery, primary and secondary school children, and community facilities will include a multi-use games area, 2G hockey pitch, 3G sports pitch, running track, external changing pavilion and rural skills area.

The project has seen SBC team up with development partner hub South East Scotland and Stallan-Brand Architects, while BAM Construction is the appointed contractor.

The funding for the new campus was confirmed by Deputy First Minister John Swinney in August 2017, as one of four projects to share £28 million from the latest phase of the Scottish Government’s £1.8 billion ‘Schools for the Future’ programme.

As a result of these approvals, site clearance work will begin, with tree specialists carefully removing a small number of trees affected by the plans over the coming weeks.

Following this, some advance groundworks will start in spring and once contracts are signed in the summer, the council will mark the official start of construction on site, with the new school being complete by March 2020.

Councillor Shona Haslam, SBC’s leader, said: “I am delighted we are making good progress towards opening a new intergenerational community campus for Jedburgh in 2020.

“The new facility will serve the whole community, from 2 to 102 year olds, with further education opportunities and community facilities for the town.

“This project has involved a huge amount of work by various stakeholders, with the vast majority of local people taking part in the extensive consultations supporting the plans.

“This is an innovative scheme to delivery nursery, primary and secondary provision simultaneously as well as significant regeneration benefits to Jedburgh.

“Health and wellbeing, employment, lifelong learning, culture, tourism and high quality collaboration space for local businesses with high quality digital connectivity are just some of the benefits this new campus will offer.”

Scott Brown, projects director for hub South East, said: “It’s great to see the plans for this new campus for Jedburgh progressing at pace and we look forward to working with Scottish Borders Council and our contractor BAM Construction to deliver a facility which supports a modern learning experience, fit for the needs of all generations.

“We’re also keen to ensure that the project delivers real community benefits during its construction and we will be offering a range of opportunities locally, so that individuals and small businesses in the Borders can benefit from the investment being made in this fantastic new development.”