THE Wee County’s £77.5million wellbeing facility and ASN school project in Alloa continues to progress and hit new milestones. 

According to an update from Robbie Stewart, Clackmannanshire’s senior manager for sport and leisure, the project has now progressed to the technical design stage. Community benefits are also appearing on the horizon. 

The multi-million pound Wellbeing Hub and Lochies School project will see a leisure centre and swimming pools built alongside the new Lochies School – specifically designed to meet the needs of children and young people with severe and complex needs – at the Pavilions site in Alloa West.

The council has envisioned the new school and hub as a place for everyone in Clackmannanshire to improve fitness, health and general wellbeing.

It will look to become a “social hub encouraging group activities and intergenerational interaction”.

The plans were officially published on Clackmannanshire Council’s planning portal earlier this summer, and while the plans are still awaiting a planning decision, progress is still being made in other areas.

“The Wellbeing Hub and Lochies School project is one of the largest facility development projects the Council has invested in,” a council update explained. 

“As such the development must provide benefits to the people of Clackmannanshire beyond just delivery of the facility.” 

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Those community benefits are now beginning to get underway. 

The project’s Tier 1 contractor, Robertson Construction, already held their first “meet the buyer” event – encouraging and supporting local businesses to bid for procurement contracts when construction begins. 

The first event in June brought more than 60 attendees from the supply chain together, and a second event is planned for October which will focus on local small and medium-sized businesses. 

Robertson Construction are also working with Alloa Academy and Alva Academy to deliver education workshops about the construction industry with students. 

“A partnership is being explored between Robertson Construction and Forth Valley College to deliver the Skills Academy to run during the construction phase,” the update said. 

“The Skills Academy will provide the opportunity for young people from across Clackmannanshire to explore the processes undertaken in the construction of a project of this size and complexity.” 

The plan is for the Skills Academy to work alongside courses delivered by Forth Valley College to create opportunities for further education in the construction industry and develop local skills. 

“It is expected that the education programme, work placements and business connections will become more established as the construction phase progresses,” the update continued. 

“All opportunities and uptake are being monitored by the collaborative working group and the project team and further detail will be brought back to Council in due course.” 

As the project has progressed, Council Leader Ellen Forson said the plans have generated “a lot of chat” in community. 

For one thing, Cllr Forson wanted to know if the project could have been delivered on the old Alloa Leisure Bowl site. 

However, she was assured that the old leisure centre site would not physically be able to fit the new Wellbeing hub and Lochies School – especially not in its current, highly accessible design. 

“The Alloa West site is 6.5 hectares, and the old leisure site is 1 hectare. The current plans physically could not fit on the old site, and even as a standalone facility, we would have to build up – which would impact on accessibility,” Mr Stewart said. 

Cllr Scott Harrison said he was “more confident than ever” that the council chose the right location for this new hub and school. 

Education spokesperson Graham Lindsay added that the current site has “always been a no-brainer”. 

He said: “The sheer size and scale of the Alloa West site compared to the previous site speaks for itself in terms of what we’re trying to achieve.

“I couldn’t be any more blown away by the level of detail and work that has gone into this. It’s my aspiration that this becomes one of the most inclusive facilities in the country, and it should be a huge sense of pride for everyone involved.

"This is a great opportunity for Clackmannanshire, and this is absolutely the right site.”