A new mixed-use development will be created on the Auchincruive Estate near Ayr, following planning permission in principle by South Ayrshire Council.

The centre will include of up to 495 homes, an 18-hole golf course, proposed hotel/wedding/conference centre; and equestrian centre.

The 600-acre (246 hectare) estate has until now been the home of the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC), which will retain a presence at Auchincruive, with the creation of a new research centre at the site dubbed the ‘East Campus’.

The new development, to be undertaken by AWG Property, will provide a range of family homes, including affordable housing, as well as facilities to bring in tourists and business investment to stimulate the local economy and create jobs.

The go ahead for the redevelopment financially enables the relocation of the main activities of the SAC to new state-of-the-art facilities at Craigie Campus in Ayr, shared with the University of the West of Scotland, as well as redeveloping existing land and buildings at the Auchincruive site.

The listed buildings located within the site boundary will be retained, sensitively refurbished, upgraded and reused for a variety of purposes.

It is proposed that the historic 18th-century Oswald Hall will be transformed into a new luxury hotel and conference/wedding centre, while Gibbs Yard is earmarked for a new pub or restaurant, crèche and estate office, while also retaining current residential and office space.

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Oswald’s Temple (also known as the Tea House), which is currently on the Scottish Civic Trust’s Building at Risk Register due its poor state of repair, will be fully restored and integrated into the Oswald Hall hotel complex as accommodation.

In addition Wilson Hall, an X-shaped 1950s building currently used as student accommodation, will be redeveloped to form 18 flats.

Meanwhile, important landscape features, such as the extensive woodland copses, ornamental gardens and the arboretum will be retained and restored. The estate is well used for outdoor recreation purposes and the existing network of car parks, footpaths, cycleways and bridleways be supplemented to improve public access.

The original masterplan for the regeneration at Auchincruive was lodged by joint applicants AWG Property – appointed by SAC to spearhead the redevelopment –and SAC in December 2007. Following a number of revisions, including an increase to the amount of housing envisaged in light of the economic crisis, a new planning application was submitted in December 2009.

Tony Donnelly, Managing Director of AWG Property, said: “We are clearly delighted this development has been given the green light. The redevelopment of the Auchincruive Estate represents an enormous investment in Ayrshire, providing new homes, tourism and leisure facilities which will revitalise the site and contribute significantly to economic growth in the region.

“Auchincruive is a historic environment with a number of significant listed buildings, not least the impressive Oswald Hall. Our masterplan protects and preserves these wonderful buildings, incorporating them as spaces where people can work, rest and play and giving them a new lease of life in the 21st century.

“The site is also well used as a recreation area by local people at present and we intend to retain and enhance footpaths, cycleways and access points to ensure that continues well into the future."

Professor Bill McKelvey, Chief Executive of the Scottish Agricultural College, said: “This decision by South Ayrshire Council is a positive vote of confidence in SAC’s plans for our future growth in this part of Scotland. Later this year SAC’s Education staff and students will move from Auchincruive into the iconic development beside the river in Ayr on the new Craigie campus, shared with the University of the West of Scotland.

“Together we will make a contribution to Higher Education which Ayrshire and the whole country can be proud of.

“Meanwhile at Auchincruive we can now begin an equally significant development which will help meet the area’s housing, recreation and leisure needs. In addition our new research and business campus will further enhance SAC’s contribution and commitment to the rural economy of Ayrshire, Scotland and beyond."

(GK)