Ground breaking ceremony at new library

The ground breaking ceremony was held to cut the first sod on the construction site for the new Drumbrae Library and Community Hub.

This marks a significant milestone in the creation of purpose-built facility at the heart of the local community which will enable people to access the services and amenities they need.

The new Drumbrae Library and Community Hub will offer a wide range of services on one ‘campus’ site, including: Library; office accommodation for a range of Council services eg Community Safety and Housing, and co-located Police teams; Day Centre and Adult Learning facility; Community Information and Access Points; ICT Access Points; Payments for rents etc.; Careers and Learning Guidance Access Points; Councillor and MSP Surgeries; Health Information Point; Parenting support; and Youth engagement.

The Drumbrae centre, due to open in early 2012, is being delivered by the hub South East Scotland Limited (hubCo) and built by Morrison Construction. The hubCo has been established to assist its public sector partners to develop community buildings on time and on budget. These new community facilities will support the delivery of shared and responsive services.

The Drumbrae Library and Community Hub is the first project to be developed as part of the hub South East Scotland programme. Over the next ten years, projects worth approximately £300 million are expected under the Hub South East programme, which covers Edinburgh, Lothians and the Borders.

Council Leader Jenny Dawe said: “This is a historic moment for the local community in Drumbrae, who have been campaigning for almost two decades now for a library in their area. This Administration is delighted to have been able to match a local need for a new day care centre while responding to the demand for a library. The new facility will be a modern, fully-equipped and accessible community ‘hub’. The next few months will be very exciting for the Drumbrae area as we see this fantastic centre begin to take shape.”

Councillor Deidre Brock, Culture and Leisure Convenor, said: “Today’s ground breaking ceremony is the first tangible sign of the longed for Drumbrae Library finally becoming a reality. This wonderful flagship facility will demonstrate how Edinburgh libraries are becoming real community hubs in the 21st century, helping people of all ages to discover the joys of reading, access a wealth of information and feel more involved in their area.”

Jo Elliot, chair of hub South East Scotland Limited said: “The Drumbrae centre represents the first fruits of a unique partnership between the private and public sectors. By bringing together the private sector members of the SPACE consortium led by Galliford Try plus the local authorities, NHS and emergency services in the region, SE hubco heralds a new era of joined-up service provision and value for money in public procurement.”

Jim Mather MSP, Minister for said: “The start of work on this project is terrific news for people in the Drumbrae area who have long campaigned for these facilities. A construction project of this kind has the added benefit of helping to drive economic growth and boost construction sector employment.

“It also shows what can be achieved when different organisations come together with the common goal of improving public services. With more hub projects in the pipeline, the Government looks forward to seeing more Scottish communities reaping the benefits of improved community facilities throughout the country.”

Colin Proctor, Accommodation Director at the Scottish Futures Trust, said: “I am delighted that the first hub project has started building in Drumbrae. The Scottish Futures Trust is managing this exciting national programme which will deliver better public buildings and provide better public services for communities right across Scotland.”

The location for the new facility was selected after careful consideration and extensive consultation with the local community. The Rannoch Terrace site offers excellent access with good bus services both day and night.

In addition, the site boasts enough space to create a very valuable resource in the centre of the community, close to well-frequented existing shops and community services.

And the size of the site allows the Council to build a modern high specification library, as well as offering a number of additional services such as day care facilities for older people and access to local Council services for residents.

Hub South East Territory (hubSET) is a major new programme to make sure we are working as efficiently as possible by delivering services in the right premises in Edinburgh. The programme will support how the Council will change and deliver its services in the future allowing the organisation to be more effective whilst reducing costs.