260910 - AEJC Minute
North Ayrshire Council · 10 September 2026
Back to Ayrshire Economic Joint Committee — 10 September 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Ayrshire Economic Joint Committee 10 September 2026 At a Meeting of the Ayrshire Economic Joint Committee at 3.05 p.m. involving a combination of participation by remote electronic means and physical attendance within the Council Chambers, Irvine. Present (Physical Participation) Councillor Anthony Gurney (North Ayrshire Council); and Councillor Iain Linton (East Ayrshire Council). Present (Remote Electronic Participation) Councillors Douglas Reid and Linda Mabon (East Ayrshire Council); and Councillors Brian Connolly, Alec Clark and George Weir (South Ayrshire Council). In Attendance (Physical Participation) R. McCutcheon, D. McDowall, S. Wilson and H. Young (North Ayrshire Council). In Attendance (Remote Electronic Participation) K. Braidwood and J. Tait (South Ayrshire Council) Apologies Councillors Joe Cullinane and Eleanor Collier, C. Hatton, L. Kirk and E. McMullen (North Ayrshire Council); J. McLachlan, D. Mitchell, G. Saunders, J. King, E. McKay and P. Davies (East Ayrshire Council); S. Penman (South Ayrshire Council); A. Cox (Ayrshire College); L. Brennan (UK Government); P. Zealey (Skills Development Scotland); A. Rice (Scottish Government). Chair Councillor Douglas Reid (agenda item 1-4), and Councillor Tony Gurney (agenda item 5-8) in the Chair. 1. Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest by Members in terms of Standing Order 11 and Section 5 of the Code of Conduct for Councillors 2. Minutes The Minutes of the Meetings of the Joint Committee held on 22 June 2026 and 21 August 2026 were confirmed and the Minutes signed in accordance with Paragraph 7 (1) of Schedule 7 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. 3. Appointment of the Chair In accordance with the rotation arrangements, Chairing and Clerking responsibilities transferred to North Ayrshire Council for the Ayrshire Economic Partnership Board and Joint Committee. Following a motion by Councillor Douglas Reid, seconded by Councillor Iain Linton, it was agreed that Councillor Gurney be appointed as Chair for future meetings of the Ayrshire Economic Partnership Board and Joint Committee.
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4. Ayrshire Growth Deal Capital Projects – Change Management Request Submitted report by the Head of Service (Ayrshire Growth Deal) seeking approval for a change management request which was submitted to Scottish and UK Governments in relation to the Ayrshire Innovation Park and the Community Renewable Energy (CoRE) project. The Joint Committee agreed (a) to proceed (i) with a multi-site delivery approach of the CoRE Vocational Skills and Training Academy, across three thematic hubs: CoRE in the Community; CoRE in Industry and CoRE in Education, and remit officers to proceed with developing designs and submission of Full Business Cases in relation to these; and (ii) with reallocating a portion of funding originally identified for the CoRE Research & Innovation Centre to deliver CoRE legacy projects across communities and the Council Estate; (b) to agree flexibility of Ayrshire Growth Deal funding across East Ayrshire projects transferring up to a maximum of £5.0m from the CoRE Project to the Ayrshire Innovation Park; and (c) to approve the change management request endorsed by both Scottish and UK Governments. 5. Ayrshire Innovation Park (Phase 3) – Approval of Full Business Case and Contract Award Submitted report by the Head of Service (Ayrshire Growth Deal) seeking approval for the Full Business Case attached at Appendix 1 to the report, and to award of the main contract for Phase Three of the Ayrshire Innovation Park (AIP) development, which comprises the construction of the Ayrshire Engineering Park (AEP) element of the AIP, alongside one industrial unit as part of the AMIC project. The Joint Committee agreed (a) to approve (i) the Full Business Case for Phase 3 (industrial unit build) of the Ayrshire Innovation Park; and (ii) the award of tender to the preferred contractor upon endorsement by the Scottish and UK Government; and (b) to note (i) that a change management request was submitted to both Governments in April 2026, setting out proposals to deal with the significant funding gap which was approved by both Governments on 5 August 2026; (ii) that this phase aligns with the Phase 1 infrastructure works currently being undertaken onsite and which are due to be concluded by November 2026; and (iii) the content of the report. 6. Flexible Advanced Business Space, i3 Irvine Phase Two, Full Business Case Submitted report by the Head of Service (Ayrshire Growth Deal) seeking approval of the Full Business Case (FBC) for Phase 2 of the Flexible Advanced Manufacturing Space Project at i3 Riverside Business Park in Irvine, to enable the award of the related design and build contract. The Joint Committee agreed to (a) approve the Full Business Case for Phase 2 of the Flexible Advanced Manufacturing Space project at i3 in Irvine to enable the award of the design and build tender for the works; and (b) delegate authority to the Executive Director (Place) to update the Full Business Case to reflect the feedback and outcome of the tender process.
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7. Urgent Items There were no urgent items. The meeting ended at 3.10 p.m. The full meeting proceedings can be viewed at https://north-ayrshire.public-i.tv/core/portal/home