Dunfermline fit-out specialist lands key role at £68m campus

Image courtesy of Sheppard Robson

DUNFERMLINE-based fit-out specialist Deanestor has been awarded a contract by Morrison Construction worth over £1 million to manufacture and install the fixed furniture for the Barony Campus in Cumnock – the largest new school project in Scotland.

Designed by Sheppard Robson, the £68 million campus is the largest capital project ever undertaken by East Ayrshire Council. It will consolidate five schools into one inclusive campus, creating an intergenerational centre for education for 2,500 students and 300 staff.

Deanestor revealed it will be fitting out 324 rooms across the 22,000 sqm campus.

Four linked structures will accommodate a secondary school for 1,633 pupils, a 517-pupil primary school, a 119-place early childhood centre for children aged 2 to 4 years, an 80-place supported learning centre, 30 additional places for children with special educational needs, and a sports centre.

Deanestor’s contract includes the manufacture and installation of bespoke fitted furniture. There will be 117 learning walls, 1,800 base and wall storage cabinets, 1,200m of shelving, 1,500m of linear worktops, 100 lockers, benching for the sports centre, adjustable-height tables across the campus to meet DDA requirements, and kitchens for three food technology laboratories, as well as staff kitchenettes and a kitchen for the life skills room.

John Allan, project director at Morrison Construction said, “Deanestor’s tender was competitive on price and they were able to achieve our programme. They have a good reputation both in the education sector and in Scotland and are a valued member of the Morrison supply chain. Our requirement is for fitted furniture that is robust and built-to-last for this high-quality flagship school campus.”

Ramsay McDonald, MD of Deanestor Scotland added, “We are delighted to be working on our sixth project for Morrison Construction in the past three years. This latest contract follows a detailed assessment which looked at our financial stability and our skills, track record and technical expertise to deliver a project of this complexity and scale. This is a challenging fit-out project that required intensive design resources to achieve a cost plan that matched the design intent. We are looking forward to contributing to an exemplar teaching and learning environment that will enable every child to reach their full potential.”

Ryan McMonagle, project architect at Sheppard Robson commented, “The Deanestor team performed really well at the initial design stages with good engagement, a positive and collaborative approach, and a thorough knowledge of the technical requirements for education furniture which has added value to the project.”