Less than eight per cent of those asked directly for their views on the ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ £44m Largs campus plan formally responded, the newly published consultation report reveals.

The 97-page council report reveals that, despite just 179 of more than 2,250 consultation papers being returned with views, there is clear backing for the Academy to be relocated to the proposed Alexander Avenue site.

However, the margins are far narrower when it comes to support for the relocation of the three primary schools affected, with a small majority against the relocation of St. Mary’s Primary and similarly small majorities’ backing the Brisbane and Kelburn Primary amalgamation and the relocation of early learning.

More than 2,250 proposal documents on the plan were issued to parents and carers, parent councils, pupils, staff and trade unions during the consultation - which also featured a number of public meetings and early engagement sessions. However, only 179 formal responses were returned - despite the window for comments being extended by a fortnight. This compares with a return of around 14% to the failed Three Towns campus consultation proposed in Ardrossan in 2013.

Each of the six schools affected by the plans were asked for their views on four aspects of the campus proposal - the relocation of Largs Academy, the relocation of St. Mary’s Primary, the amalgamation of Brisbane and Kelburn Primaries and the relocation of early learning.

The overall response saw significant backing for the relocation of the Academy (142 for, 27 against and 2 having no position). There was a narrow majority against the relocation of St. Mary’s (73 for, 79 against, 19 no position) with similar close results for the amalgamation of Brisbane and Kelburn (85 for, 77 against, 9 no position) and relocation of early learning (88 for, 75 against and 8 no position).

A breakdown of the survey responses show that 50 out of the 64 Largs Academy parents, staff and others backed the Academy relocation. The Academy proposal was positive across the board, as you can see in the table below.

However, the inclusion of primary schools continued to be controversial. The relocation of St. Mary’s was backed by 73 responses, opposed by 79, with a further 19 with no preference. Only St. Mary’s and Kelburn Primaries voted against the relocation.

The amalgamation of Brisbane and Kelburn - one of the most contentious aspects of the plans was given the thumbs up by 85 people, compared to 77 against and nine with no preference either way. Both Brisbane and Kelburn Primaries voted against the amalgamation, with the remainder in favour. The relocation of early learning to the campus was only opposed by Kelburn Primary, although the figures of 88 for and 75 against were similar to the amalgamation.

The view of the national schools body, Education Scotland, is also included - highlighting the benefit for children and young people, the Academy’s current state of repair and the enhanced facilities which would be available to all pupils from primary through to secondary.

Its report does acknowledge the level of concerns relating to the location and traffic and states that, should the plan get the go ahead, the council must address this with the local community.