Keys officially handed over at Dunlop Early Childhood Centre

Elina Kobzar

5 September 2024 at 10:58 am·2-min read

East Ayrshire's newest childhood centre has opened its doors after an official ceremony to hand over the keys.

Dunlop Early Childhood Centre welcomed a visit from council leader Douglas Reid, who joined joined Calder, Louise, Summer and Nathan, and Head Teacher Mrs Kelly for the official key handover ceremony.

Councillor Reid was joined on site by Councillors Elaine Cowan, Maureen McKay, John McGhee, Ellen Freel and Stephen Canning.

The ceremony was also attended by Linda McAulay-Griffiths, Chief Education Officer and Head of Education, Janie Allen, Strategic Manager Early Years, Kirsty Mitchell, Depute Head of Centre, David Caufield from the Parent Council, representatives from Facilities and Property Management and the main contractor, Ashleigh (Scotland) Ltd.

The ECC, which is known as The Bridge, can accommodate 72 places and has been built on a site overlooking fields just off Lugton Road. The design ensures that children have access to quality learning opportunities and experiences both indoors and outdoors.

The Bridge is also the council’s first Passivhaus building. This means that the ECC has been built to a world-leading energy efficiency and thermal performance standard. Heat loss from the building is minimised, reducing energy usage and helping the Council move towards achieving sustainability targets while providing an environment with a high standard of internal comfort.

Councillor Reid said: "I was very pleased to officially hand over the keys at The Bridge to Calder, Louise, Summer and Nathan, who all pointed out that the key was far too big for the door and that a smaller key would really have been much better, which brought quite a bit of laughter to a grey day.

"The new ECC is a really attractive building that has increased the number of places available to local families, which is great news. It also provides a high-quality facility that will ensure our youngest learners have access to both indoor and outdoor learning experiences.

"The facility is also our first Passivhaus build. We are leading the way in Scotland with this technology and I know that other local authorities have been following our journey closely.

"The Bridge builds on our commitment to both tackling the climate emergency and ensuring that every young person in East Ayrshire benefits from the very best start in life."

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