Committee Confirms Conon Bridge Site for new School

The Highland Council’s Education Culture and Sport Committee has agreed that a new amalgamated primary school for Conon Bridge and Maryburgh should be built on the site of the existing Conon Bridge Primary School.

This follows an options appraisal exercise by consultants, Caledonian Economics which considered: -

The qualitative assessment examined such issues as learning and teaching, pupil entitlement/equality of opportunity, community facilities and activities, campus traffic management, community identity, temporary accommodation during construction and travel distance and time.

Under the terms of the quantitative assessment, the new amalgamated school was 17% less expensive over the estimated 60-year life of the new/refurbished buildings. At today’s prices the estimated cost of the new amalgamated school, over a 60 year period, was £19.89 million while the corresponding figure for the redevelopment of the existing Conon and Maryburgh schools was £23.83 million a difference of £3.94 million. The quantitative assessment includes teaching costs, non teaching costs, loans charges, facilities management costs, utility costs, life cycle maintenance costs, temporary accommodation costs and safe routes to school costs over the estimated life of both options.

The four ward members for Dingwall and Seaforth said they would abide by the findings of the independent consultant’s options appraisal and the Committee unanimously accepted the recommendation of building a new amalgamated school at Conon Bridge.

The approved level of funding within the ECS Capital programme for the new educational provision at Conon/Maryburgh is £5.942 million.