MCLAUGHLIN Construction has announced completion of the Coastal Hub at Irvine Beach Park for North Ayrshire Council.
The delivery marks the first major milestone in the £14 million Great Harbour regeneration programme at Irvine Harbourside.
To mark the occasion, North Ayrshire provost Anthea Dickson cut the ribbon to officially open Sea Monster Park. She was joined by community representatives, elected members, project partners, and pupils from nearby Glebe Primary School, who put the new park and pump track to the test.
Irvine-based McLaughlin Construction explained that the Coastal Hub has transformed a substantial area of Irvine Beach Park into a fresh new coastal destination for residents and visitors. The centrepiece is the Sea Monster Park, an inclusive play facility inspired by Scottish folklore and Irvine’s maritime heritage. It incorporates 62 items of play equipment, including a large pirate ship, slides and the landmark sea monster, all surrounded by approximately 3,000m² of brightly coloured safety surfacing.
The wider Coastal Hub includes a skatepark and pump track, picnic and seating areas, a serviced events space, footpath and road improvements, and a programme of hard and soft landscaping. The historic Pilot House was also conserved, with a new plaza and improved public setting created around the building.
Tom Arthur MSP, minister for business and fair work, said, “The public realm improvements delivered through this phase of development, including the impressive Sea Monster Park, will play a key part in attracting more visitors to the Irvine area, boosting the local economy and providing a strong foundation for the next phases of the Great Harbour development.”
Delivery required careful management of challenging ground conditions, ecological considerations, and the detailed interfaces between civil engineering works and specialist play, skatepark and pump-track installations. McLaughlin added that precise setting-out, formation levels, surface construction, and testing were essential to the successful coordination of these elements.
Construction required a programme of civil engineering, drainage, earthworks and coordinated infrastructure. Over 4,000 cubic metres of material was excavated across the site, of which almost half was retained and reused within the development. The landscape scheme incorporates almost 5,000 square metres of turf and a further 5,000 square metres of wildflower and amenity seeding.
Shaun McLaughlin, director of McLaughlin Construction, commented, “Delivering the Coastal Hub has been a particularly meaningful project for our business; McLaughlin Construction has been based in North Ayrshire since 1946, and the majority of our people, who delivered the work live locally, know the area and will enjoy the completed facilities with their own families.
“The scale of the work beneath the surface of this complex project has been considerable, requiring careful preparation and coordination of several specialist installations; this has been a highly collaborative project. We are incredibly proud to have delivered such an important development for our local area using our local workforce, trusted regional supply chain and specialist partners.”
