Plans progress for Neilston shared education and leisure campus

Plans to create a shared education and leisure campus in Neilston are being taken forward by East Renfrewshire Council after consultation results revealed support for the proposal.Councillors on the education committee considered the results of a formal six-week consultation into the proposal and approved it being progressed to the next stage.Although funding for any potential development has not yet been identified, the positive consultation response will now allow plans to be progressed.Having completed this work it also ensures that the council will be ready to take advantage of any future investment programme to support this development.The Learning in Neilston consultation considered the potential for creating a shared campus for Neilston Primary, St Thomas’ Primary and Madras Family Centre.It is being proposed that the development will be on the current site of Neilston Primary, as a feasibility study has shown that this location is large enough. The St Thomas’ Primary site was also considered, but was not big enough to include both schools and the family centre.With more than 500 consultation responses, the majority supported the proposal. A total of 71% of pupils were in favour and 89% of statutory respondees, other than pupils, also agreed.Staff groups at both Neilston and St Thomas’ Primary, the Diocese of Paisley for the Roman Catholic Church and Neilston Community Council also showed their support for the plans.In addition, 61% of non-statutory respondees, the majority of which were local residents, were in favour of the proposal.Education Scotland also supported the proposal and noted that it “provides a number of significant educational benefits for all children, staff and the communities they serve”.