Plans for a new £85 million replacement for Inverkeithing High School have been approved.
The state-of-the-art building for 1,700 pupils and 159 staff will be built on the Fleet Grounds in Rosyth.
And all being well, it will open in 2026.
Planning permission follows a long, drawn-out process which included consideration of 27 possible locations and an extensive consultation exercise.
Almost two thirds of the 216 parents and carers who responded were against the chosen site – more than two miles from the current Hillend Road building.
And some members of Fife Council’s planning committee continued to express misgivings during Wednesday’s discussions.
However, they concluded the need for a new school outweighs concerns over location.
Bid to allay road safety fears
Many of the parents expressed fears over congested roads and safe walking routes.
And the new school will not have a swimming pool, meaning the loss of a community facility.
Discussions around a replacement pool are ongoing.
However, planners say safe walking routes to the Rosyth school are incorporated in the plan.
They include narrowing the carriageway on the A985 and creating a three-metre wide pedestrian and cycle path.
Pedestrian and cycle crossing points with traffic lights will also be created on the busy Admiralty Road.
Almost 500 pupils are expected to walk or cycle to the school, with around 1,200 arriving by bus or car.
New Inverkeithing High School to include seven sports pitches
The existing Inverkeithing High School is now more than 50 years old and in need of extensive refurbishment.
It is rated the worst school in Fife for accessibility, there is asbestos in the building and the heating and ventilation systems are costly to run.
The new, as yet unnamed, school will include seven sports pitches, all of which will be available for community use outwith school hours.
Two will be multi-use games areas, two all-weather pitches and three grass ones.
An external play area to the rear of the school will include seating, outdoor table tennis and a basketball court.
And a community garden to the south-west will have growing areas and a greenhouse.
‘We desperately need a new school’
Inverkeithing SNP councillor David Barratt pointed out the new location contravenes three of the council’s own policies.
But he added: “It’s necessary to continue because we desperately need new school.
“To refuse it at this stage would result in many years’ extension.”
And Conservative member Dave Dempsey said: “It hinges on whether this is the only place the school can be built.
“I’m stuck with accepting that.”
Conversation