Parents have made a heartfelt plea to councillors as they prepare to decide the fate of a new Aberdeen school.
Local authority money chiefs have suggested a months-long delay at the Riverbank Primary School building site.
Councillors could decide to delay the £36.2 million Tillydrone project, which only has foundations at the moment.
Plea before full council gathering
Now the Riverbank Parent Council has delivered a hard-hitting letter to every councillor in Aberdeen before tomorrow’s (Wednesday) full meeting of the council.
The letter, which was sent out this afternoon, urges elected officials in the “strongest possible terms, to restart work at the new Riverbank Primary School site immediately.”
Members of the parent council have said that any further hold-up to the school build will be “damaging and far-reaching” for children in Tillydrone.
The letter said: “The view of the Parent Council is that the impact of this delay will be damaging and far-reaching, and will force parents of senior primary pupils to tell them that they will never have the chance to learn in a brand new, state-of-the-art building, despite the council promising that that would happen.
“The delay, therefore, is simply not good enough.”
‘Not too late’ to restart Riverbank School construction
Riverbank Parent Council has called for councillors to “listen to common sense” before deciding the school’s fate.
They insist it is “not too late for councillors to do the right thing” by bringing back construction crews.
Their letter said: “The parent council has done its research and would like to highlight that we fully appreciate the huge pressures facing the council. But we hope that councillors will listen to common sense, and accept that there are very real risks attached to retendering the remaining work.
“It is not too late for councillors to do the right thing. Not just because parents are calling for it but because it is becoming increasingly clear that it is the right and responsible thing to do.”
Construction delays
Workers at the Tillydrone site downed tools earlier in the summer, with concrete foundations simply left behind locked gates.
The Riverbank Parent Council called for a public meeting to discuss the issues with the build.
It was also claimed that a contract for the Tillydrone project was not signed.
A decision on the project was due to be made at the start of this month, but this was delayed by councillors.
The proposed price of the school has increased by more than a third – nearly £10m.
Covid, the war in Ukraine and Brexit are being blamed for soaring prices in construction.
Aberdeen City Council’s resources director Steve Whyte has suggested a pause, lasting at least four to six months. This would allow the council to go back to the market to look for a better price.
The hold-up has a knock-on effect on nearby St Peter’s RC Primary too. Pupils there will move to the existing Riverbank School after it is upgraded.
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