North Lanarkshire Council has published plans for the new campus which will replace Gartcosh Primary School if approved.

The council intends to build Gartcosh Community Hub to replace both the school and Gartcosh Community Hall, and the plans include a language communication support centre, nursery class and community facilities along with parking spaces, sports facilities a community garden and landscaping, on a site at Woodneuk Road.

The current school building dates back to the Victorian era and currently has more pupils than it was intended to accommodate, resulting in the loss of outdoor facilities such as playgrounds to provide additional classrooms. The replacement school would have spaces for almost 500 primary pupils and almost 50 nursery children.

The community hall is also more than a century old, having been built in 1903, and is frequently used as extra space for the school resulting in a lack of availability for other purposes.

Prior to applying for planning permission, the council carried out extensive consultations and the public, gathering feedback from questionnaires, user groups and workshops, considering various topics from how children and staff get to school each day to the needs of the broader community, with this information used to guide the project through its development.

A report on the consultation concludes: “The Pre-Application Consultation process that has been carried out complies with the relevant legislation, regulations, and guidelines.

“The public consultation sessions were advertised in the Kirkintilloch Herald and promoted on NLC social media channels.

“Members of the public attended all three events and observations were recorded for consideration when developing the design. The majority of comments were supportive of the emerging design, concerns were raised regarding the size of the primary school and whether it was sufficient for the growing population within the catchment area.

“North Lanarkshire Council addressed these comments on the evening of the events, advising that the brief for the project does consider known future growth.

“The next steps are to review the comments raised and review against the emerging design. A planning application will be progressed and stakeholders, including the wider community will have an opportunity to review the proposals and make representations to the planning authority where required.”

To comment on the proposal or for further detail, visit North Lanarkshire Council’s website and search for reference number  23/01357/FUL.