A BRAND new visitor hub has been opened at Belleisle Park.

A ceremony has taken place to celebrate the opening of the new £1.5million hub in South Ayrshire Council’s latest edition to the Belleisle Estate in partnership with the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The new building will place host to community space, an office for Park Rangers, accessible public toilets, changing facilities and an onsite café that will be open from Easter 2019.

The attractive building stands on the site of the parks’ former stable block, with much of the stone from the stables incorporated into the new build.

Reusing older materials is very much in keeping with the spirit of the new visitor hub, and its green credentials extend to a biomass boiler. Along with solar panels and LED lighting, these additions mean the hub has achieved a fantastic energy performance rating.

In addition to the already built golf clubhouse that was completed in 2016, the visitor hub at the Belleisle site has brought total investment of over £5.4million in the last five years.

Councillor Ian Cochrane, Environment Portfolio Holder for South Ayrshire Council explained that the developments have increased the number of visitors to the hub in the last year dramatically and reduced carbon footprint.

He said: “The new hub is a wonderful addition to the park and follows in the footsteps of the new Golf Clubhouse, restored conservatory, improved path network, play area and impressive landscaping which has already helped double visitor numbers to over 200,000 in the last year.

“The Council is keen to lead the way when it comes to carbon reduction, so it was important we used sustainable energy sources at the visitor hub and this has been recognised with the award of a B energy performance rating which I am delighted with.

“The hub will not only be a focal point for visitors to South Ayrshire but for locals too, so we are encouraging community groups to make use of the facilities.

“We will continue to work with our partners such as the Heritage Lottery Fund to transform Belleisle Estate, so it can be enjoyed for many years to come.”