Renfrewshire Council has announced an agreement has been reached in principle to acquire land for the controversial Dargavel Primary School project - though it's not set to open until 2027.
Under the terms of a privately-funded project which will see nearly 4,000 new homes built on the site of a former Royal Ordnance Factory by 2034, land owners BAE Systems were to pay for the construction of a new school.
They completed and funded work on an £18m school building should have been able to accommodate 1,100 pupils, but due to an “error” by council officials, it could only hold 430.
BAE Systems built to the specifications supplied to them by the council, meaning their obligations under what is known as the Section 75 Agreement are now discharged.
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Renfrewshire Council announced in February that they now expect 1,500 children to need to use the school by 2033, meaning a second building will have to be constructed at a cost estimated somewhere between £42m and £45m.
Extending the local secondary, Park Mains High School, to accommodate another 400 pupils will be between £27m and £30m.
The local authority said they would likely need to take a loan out to pay for the cost. They estimated that this would leave the council with annual repayments of £4m over the 40-year lifetime of the new building for a cost of £160m.
In a letter to parents and carers, Renfrewshire council head of education Julie Calder stated that an agreement had been reached - subject to council approval - for the land for a new primary school, as well as for additional land connected to the existing one.
The new building will have capacity for 800 pupils, and will be far enough away from the old school to have its own catchment area, but it is not expected to be ready to welcome pupils until 2027.
She wrote: "Members of the council’s Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board are being asked to approve the content of our agreement with BAE Systems when they meet on Wednesday 30 August.
"Planning impact of the agreement is set out in a separate report tabled for consideration by councillors on Tuesday 29 August at the Planning and Climate Change Policy Board.
"If agreed, we and BAE Systems will immediately move forward with the work needed to deliver the new school. We have now appointed space planners to help scope out what should be in the new school development.
"As part of that, they will over the coming weeks seek the views of parents, carers and the community on what you want from the new facility, allowing your feedback to be factored into the design. That will include how the building could be used by the community outside school hours.
"BAE Systems will get the land ready for construction, connect power and water connections to the site, and build the required access roads. They will cover the costs of this work.
"We estimate the new school will be ready to welcome pupils for the start of the school year in August 2027, but are looking at all options to bring that timescale forward if we can."
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