Monifieth High’s rocketing construction cost has killed off flagship plans to progress an Arbroath secondary ‘super campus’.
And ambitious proposals for a major upgrade of schools across Montrose are also set to be axed by cash-strapped Angus Council.
The authority is pressing on with the much-needed Monifieth secondary and work should begin within weeks.
But the new bill is £66.5 million – £15m more than the estimate when it was approved in 2020.
And any uncommitted cash for other capital projects at Angus schools has been used to plug the Monifieth funding gap.
It means other elements of the council’s vaunted Schools for the Future programme will take an inevitable hit.
On Thursday, education councillors will be asked to drop two headline schemes from the 30-year district-wide blueprint.
Bosses say there is no money for either the Arbroath Secondary Schools or Montrose Reimagined projects.
What was planned for Arbroath?
The council wanted to look at replacing both Arbroath Academy and Arbroath High School with one integrated campus.
It was working closely with Dundee and Angus College on the project.
Education chiefs would have asked the Scottish Government’s Schools for the Future fund for support.
Montrose Reimagined
The strategy also featured plans for a major transformation of the Montrose school estate.
It was to cover Montrose Academy and primary schools:
- Southesk
- Ferryden
- Borrowfield
- Rosemount
- St Margaret’s
- Lochside
Education officials say it would be a “major undertaking requiring significant human and financial resources.”
Some scoping work took place up to 2020, but was impacted by the pandemic.
Since then the project has effectively been put on hold.
What is the alternative plan?
Education director Kelly McIntosh pulls no punches in the financial challenges facing the council.
“The proposed construction of a replacement high school in Monifieth sits within the context of significant financial risk and uncertainty for Angus Council.
“The costs associated with the project have increased due to a combination of factors.”
Inflation, Brexit on material importing costs, the war in Ukraine and Covid are all blamed.
“The funding package includes the transfer of all remaining uncommitted capital funding associated with the Angus Schools for the Future Programme,” she admits.
The director is asking councillors to drop the two big-ticket projects.
She wants the strategy to refocus on three main areas.
Capacity: Monitoring school roll projections on an annual basis to identify any school where occupancy is projected to exceed 90%.
Condition and Suitability: Work to improve any schools will be targeted and based on “robust assessments”.
Best value: Greater efficiencies around management and staffing; catchment areas and the possible mothballing of schools with low pupil numbers.
Schools for the Future triggered the fight to save Stracathro School after the rural primary came under threat back in 2018.
It was an early target in the far-reaching scheme.
But local parents mounted a successful campaign to save the 17-pupil school after closure was branded a “daft” idea.
Conversation