ARCHITECTS behind the new super school set to be built at Ardrossan's North Shore have offered a first glimpse of the multi-million-pound development.

JM Architects, designers of a number of educational and residential buildings throughout the country, confirmed this week that a proposal of application notice (PAN) has been submitted for the new Ardrossan Community Campus.

This marks the next step toward the submission of the formal planning application in a process that has been hit by several delays already.

The Herald reported last month that the planned opening of the campus has been pushed back to 2026 - while a deadline for bids passed on Friday (February 24) for the contract to complete preparatory works at the former Shell Oil site.

READ MORE: Opening date for new super school pushed back to 2026 as contract tender is re-issued

Enabling works, including the construction of a coastal revetment, coastal pathway, utilities, drainage, earthworks, and road infrastructure, are set to start in late August this year - around a year-and-a-half later than originally scheduled.

Work on the educational campus, as well as further residential and commercial development, cannot begin until the enabling works have finished, and an initial timescale of nine months has been set for this part of the project.

Merging Ardrossan Academy and Winton Primary School and also housing a library and swimming pool, the campus project has been described as the "most significant school investment in North Ayrshire's history".

In an online update shared on Monday (February 27), JM Architects said: "The new community campus at the North Shore site in Ardrossan will be the first part of wider development on the disused former Shell site, transforming the previously industrialised land into a new healthy, environmentally conscious, low-carbon landscape.

"The development will provide huge educational benefits for pupils and new facilities for the local community.

"JM Architects and design team have developed proposals for a new state-of-the-art facility for school pupils, staff and the wider community which also fits with the council’s drive to becoming net-zero.

"This new building will transform the learning experience for school children and also offers lifelong learning for the community of Ardrossan and the wider area.

"On this site, with stunning views to Arran, the building will create a new destination for the local community and a catalyst for regenerating the North Shore area."

Drop-in consultation events were held in February to allow members of the public to view and discuss the campus plans and ask questions, while a further drop-in feedback event will be held on March 9 at Ardrossan Academy.

Reports prepared for this week's North Ayrshire Council budget meeting reveal that more than £8.6 million in additional funding will be required to finish the campus project, plus an extra £15m for the wider North Shore development.

Set to cost around £80m in total, the community campus' timeline has been pushed back by a range of problems so far.

The council document stated: "Following a review of the Ardrossan Community Campus and associated delivery programmes, it has been identified that the international supply chain issues and significant levels of construction inflation, influenced by the above-noted global events [including the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine], have resulted in rising cost estimates for both the Ardrossan Community Campus and the Ardrossan North Shore enabling works.

"This has been further exacerbated by material and labour shortages and a reduction in overall contractor risk appetite."