The new Largs supercampus has been given the go ahead by councillors.

North Ayrshire Council’s cabinet agreed to the proposals on Tuesday, including an increase in investment to almost £52m - an £8 million rise on the estimated cost reported to the cabinet in December.

The new development will comprise of one campus building housing separate establishments – Largs Academy, St Mary’s Primary School, a new primary school arising from the amalgamation of Brisbane and Kelburn Primary schools, and a new Early Years Centre.

Each school will be led by their own head teachers, with a centre manager overseeing the early years centre.

As well as the development of “state-of-the-art educational facilities”, the council’s partnership with sportscotland will mean pupils are given exclusive access to first-class sporting facilities within Inverclyde Sports Centre.

A lengthy consultation took place late in 2014 and included four public meetings. More than 2000 people were asked for their views on the proposals, with around 180 making a formal response.

A council spokesperson said that the consultation confirmed broad support for the proposal. Education Scotland have also given their backing to the educational gain a new campus would provide to the children and young people.

While the cabinet have given approval, the decision will not be formally ratified until next week. If the decision is not ‘called in’ by other councillors by next Tuesday, the council will submit the decision to Scottish Ministers.

There will then be an eight-week period for Ministers to consider the outcome of the consultation and any further representations. The spokesperson added: “If the proposal is approved, a series of design consultation sessions will take place with children and young people, parents, staff and the wider community to shape the design of the new facilities within the campus, with a view to being on site by the end of 2015.” Local councillor and depute leader of the council Alan Hill, welcomed the decision.

He said: “I am absolutely delighted to be supporting this proposal today. The council has carried out a rigorous public consultation and we are pleased to be able now to move on to the next phase of the development. I am particularly looking forward to seeing some design concepts for what the new school could look like. There will also be plenty of opportunities for members of the public, parents and pupils to feed into the design process.

“We have an excellent site for the school with some of the best views in Scotland and this combined with first class modern teaching facilities and sports facilities means that we are going to be able to deliver something really special not just for those currently at school but for future generations as well.

“I would like to pay tribute to the officers who have worked extremely hard to deal with the public consultation as well as the negotiations with Sportscotland, the Scottish Government and others in order to bring these proposals together.

“I would also like to thank the many parents, pupils and local people who took the trouble to attend the many public consultations and provide their feedback.” Councillor John Bruce, Cabinet Member for Education, Attainment and Achievement, added: “After chairing the public meetings, I was left in absolutely no doubt that the proposed new education campus was something that really excited people.

“The school will herald a new chapter for education in Largs and a generation of children will benefit.

“As well as state-of-the-art classes and resources within the school, the sporting facilities available to the children and young people will be simply top class.

“This is a fantastic opportunity and I’m proud to be part of a council so committed to enriching the lives of our children and young people.”