An eye-watering £40m price hike for a new Dundee secondary school could have financial repercussions across the city, a teaching union has warned.
Work on the East End Community Campus, which will accommodate pupils from Craigie High and Braeview Academy, is expected to begin next month.
But the initial £60m price tag has rocketed to £100m since the plan was first revealed two years ago, new council papers reveal.
£100m figure more than cost of V&A
It means the building will cost significantly more than Dundee Waterfront’s flagship £80.1m V&A museum.
The museum’s complex and unique curved-wall design is world-renowned for its architecture and considered a feat of engineering. It was completed in 2018 before record inflation hit the UK.
Local EIS rep David Baxter says he recognises the urgent need for the school.
But he has been left taken aback by the inflation costs, put down to Brexit, the Covid-19 response, and the war in Ukraine.
He fears the council will struggle to afford it.
“They’ll be borrowing more and more to meet the cost”, he said.
“And what does that mean for spending elsewhere further down the line, particularly on the rest of the school estate?
“It will be the biggest school in the region by a long, long way and will be really high quality.
“But when you see the cost as £100m you just think ‘wow that’s a lot’.”
The new campus has been described as a crucial development for closing the attainment gap and improving education overall for local pupils.
Braeview and Craigie in poor condition
Braeview pupils are still learning in portacabins after a huge fire destroyed parts of the school in 2018 while the quality of design and condition of 1960s-built Craigie has been much-maligned.
The increase in costs is being “partly funded” by the Scottish Government, the council says.
In total, the Scottish Government is expected to contribute £40m, meaning the council needs to pay the bulk.
Work is expected to start next month with the building due for completion in July 2025.
Mr Baxter also echoed the disappointment of many locals that the school will not contain a swimming pool.
“When you look at what you’re getting, it seems like a huge amount.
“In Dundee, we’re running out of swimming pools in part due to the Olympia closure, and at £100m, it won’t even have one,” he said.”
The school will be located at Drumgeith Road on the former site of St Saviours High School.
School will be for community use
It will house a music and drama centre suitable for city-wide school and community use as well as a café and library that will be accessible during the day for combined community and school use.
Sport facilities include floodlit all weather pitches, a fitness suite and a dance studio in addition to the standard gym and games halls will also be available for use during the day to help create a fully integrated community feel.
Council leader John Alexander has described it as “more than a school” and a “focus for the whole community”.
A special meeting of the council’s policy and resources committee will meet on Monday to approve a report detailing the increased costs.
Conversation