Work complete on £1.5m centre
Work has been completed on a new £1.5 million state-of-the-art Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) centre in West Lothian.
The building will provide up to 64 spaces for early learning and childcare for eligible two, three and four year olds, and the project includes a new 3G floodlit Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) and dedicated parking and drop-off facilities.
The nursery in Blackridge was delivered for West Lothian Council by its development partner hub South East and contractor Morrison Construction, and was handed over on schedule and within budget last month.
The modern, purpose-built Passivhaus standard nursery will be situated next to Blackridge Primary School.
Executive councillor for education David Dodds said: “Blackridge ELC is a fantastic new facility that will provide an ideal learning environment for local children.
“We welcome the Passivhaus accreditation, with the pioneering design delivering a number of potential benefits, such as reducing energy use and increasing comfort for staff and children.”
Eddie Robertson, managing director of Morrison Construction Building Central, added: “As a business, we pride ourselves on driving forward innovative approaches to construction. The Blackridge project has been a fantastic opportunity to test the application of Passivhaus standards in an education setting and we have learnt a lot from the process.
“I congratulate the team on their efforts and look forward to applying our new found knowledge in lowering the carbon footprint of new educational buildings in Scotland.”
Roddy Clark, Hub South East’s operations director, said: “We’re incredibly proud to have delivered another successful learning space in partnership with West Lothian Council.
“As the first local authority Passivhaus educational building in the country, this is further demonstrable evidence of Hub South East’s capacity for quality, innovation and sustainability.
“We’re delighted to have assisted our client in meeting progressive Scottish Government environmental targets, as well as helping influence next-generation design proposals for Scotland’s learning estate.
“This has been an excellent partnership project, with a forward-thinking client and a supply chain dedicated to the Passivhaus principles. We look forward to taking lessons from the design, construction and performance of this exciting facility onto future developments.”
Passivhaus buildings are specially designed to offer excellent thermal comfort and very good air quality all year round.
Due to their high energy efficiency, energy costs, as well as greenhouse gas emissions are extremely low.
The investment is part of a £14m investment programme in pre-school education in West Lothian between 2019 and 2021.
Blackridge ELC is a fantastic new facility