Cost of Dundee’s Western Gateway school rises to £25m with start date still up in air

The cost for Dundee’s Western Gateway school has now climbed to £25m following a funding snub by the Scottish Government.

However, it has been revealed that Dundee City Council is set to fully fund the school despite the setback.

A new report has shown that it is assumed approximately £4m will be funded by developer contributions with the balance being met from borrowing for the project.

It was previously hoped the school would open by 2026.

However, the report shows that the project’s first round of funding, a sum of £7.5m, is not scheduled until ’26/27 – with the rest earmarked for ’27/28.

Snubbed by Scottish Government

The project has been plagued with setbacks and controversy.

To help fund the new school, families moving into the Western Gateway area paid an extra four-figure “roof tax” when buying their homes.

The £5,000 sum was factored into house prices when residents were buying and was not an additional cost to be paid upfront.

Contributions from hundreds of families are therefore expected to cover a chunk of the project, freeing up the council’s budget for other costly schemes.

It was hoped Holyrood would shell out the money for around half of the, at the time, £21.8 million project – with the council applying for the Scottish Government’s Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) in October 2022.

But in October last year, the government announced the Western Gateway school was not among the successful projects chosen to receive funding, despite meeting the criteria.

In response, the Scottish Government highlighted that the competitive nature of the fund and budget pressures meant some projects missed out.

It was also revealed that prior government funding awarded for Dundee schools –including the new £100 million East End Community Campus – meant the Western Gateway school was not deemed a priority.

The funding snub angered members of the local community, who have accused the council of not acting quickly enough.

Hurdles still to be addressed

But the local authority has said there are a number of obstacles still to be addressed before the completion.

These include planning consent for the next phase of development, the timing of the transfer of ownership of the proposed site, and site servicing.

Stewart Hunter, convener of children, families and communities said: “When we met the community prior to Christmas we were clear that despite the disappointment of not receiving funding for the project, our commitment to building a primary school for the community remained.

“Despite significant financial challenges not only have we been able to maintain funding for the school we have been able to increase it. 

“Our continued commitment to delivering the school is clear”