Work is underway on a £65 million urban park regeneration project in Kilmarnock.

The HALO Kilmarnock scheme is being developed on the site of the former Johnnie Walker bottling plant in the town.

UK Government Minister for Scotland, Lord Duncan, visited the site on Monday, 04 December to view the start of construction work.

The multi-faceted brownfield regeneration project aims to create a new urban park featuring a dynamic commercial, educational, cultural, leisure and lifestyle quarter.

Features include a new low carbon, renewable deep geothermal district heating network to fuel the site, with the capability of being extended to other areas of the community, as well as a new Enterprise & Innovation Centre which is supported by £3.5m of UK Government funding.


In addition, a new light manufacturing facility and key worker private rental accommodation are also being developed.

Lord Duncan said: "Supported by a £3.5 million UK Government investment, The HALO Kilmarnock is an ambitious, important development that will create jobs, grow the economy and drive innovation.

"The project will attract international companies to locate in the town, benefiting from the excellent transport links and a local, well-trained workforce. The HALO Kilmarnock marks a fresh start for Kilmarnock and Ayrshire and I hope that the project is a catalyst for further regeneration in Scotland and beyond."

Marie Macklin, founder and director of The HALO Kilmarnock, added: "The HALO will play an important role in the UK Government's UK Industrial Strategy, to which we contributed at its consultation stage.

"The economic benefits of this community-led development will be felt not just in Kilmarnock and East Ayrshire, but across the whole of Scotland and driving down into the Northern Powerhouse, harnessing the power of the 4th Industrial Revolution – the digital revolution.

"We welcome the UK Government's support for The HALO Kilmarnock which is a major infrastructure project in its own right and we hope that it will prove to be a catalyst for other infrastructure projects, such as the improved road and rail links that will connect it with the rest of the UK."

(LM/MH)