Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Our kids are eating outside because there is no space’: Turf war for new north schools as it becomes clear capital plan is not affordable

Councillors want Sepa to look at Farr residents' water contamination claims. Image: Jason Hedges / DC Thomson
Councillors want Sepa to look at Farr residents' water contamination claims. Image: Jason Hedges / DC Thomson

Inverness members said children are having to eat their lunch outside, prompting other councillors to speak up for their schools too.

Their words came as budget leader Derek Louden laid out the stark facts:

“What was affordable then is not affordable now, and won’t be affordable in the future,” he said.

“We have to tell our communities that we can’t deliver on everything we said we could deliver.”

Mr Louden said there is detailed work under way to reassess the capital programme. This could mean the Highland Council can’t deliver all the new schools it had hoped.

Inverness pupils forced to eat outside, says Christie

Mr Louden said he initially looked at delaying projects, but council officers had made it clear there would need to be cuts too.

His words prompted the leader of the opposition to challenge the process.

“Collaboration isn’t saying ‘Here’s the finished paper, what do you think?” said Mr Christie. For the second time in the meeting, he urged council leaders to open a dialogue with opposition members.

Earlier, SNP members had taken aim at the chaos in UK politics, quipping that the cabinet had changed more times than an Ikea showroom.

Inverness members say Inverness pupils are having to eat outside due to a shortage of space in the school.

Mr Christie countered: “My residents don’t care about your comments that [the budget was set] was three chancellors ago. They care about their children and their schools, and whether they will spend their whole academic life in modular classrooms.”

Mr Christie said some Inverness pupils are having to eat their lunch outside due to a lack of space in their school. His colleague Trish Robertson later reiterated the point, saying that Culloden Academy pupils are eating outside.

Turning directly to Mr Louden, Mr Christie asked: “Will you take Inverness schools out of the programme?”

His words set hares running in the Highland Council chamber, with members all chipping in for schools in their own ward.

Dingwall councillor Margaret Paterson reminded the Inverness members that they should think more broadly than the city. She asked members not to row back on commitments to St Clement’s school.

Even the chairman of the education committee John Finlayson worked in a plug for his ward in Skye.

Stop point scoring and find solutions

Councillor Maxine Smith observed: “Everyone will fight for their own area, and it won’t be easy to decide.”

She went on to ask the Highland Council to be ambitious, brave and commercial in its approach to new school builds. Ms Smith repeated ideas she had raised in the last political term, that the council should explore the option of modular buildings to save costs.

Maxine Smith reiterated her proposal to explore modular buildings for the Highland Council school estate. Image: Duncan Macpherson

“I’m not thinking in terms of cuts, I’m think how can we do it?” she said.

Economy chairman Ken Gowans urged members not to jump to assumptions about what’s in or out of the capital plan. “We need to take a measured view,” he said.

Mr Finlayson was in agreement. Highland Council needs to be responsible financially, but all hope is not lost.

“I’m ambitious for the capital programme but we have to look at every way possible to fund it,” he said. “We need to ensure out communities get their schools. Let’s stop point scoring and bring the ideas of all members together.”

Are you interested in more exclusive and breaking Highland and Islands news from the P&J? If so, why not join our dedicated Facebook page HERE

Conversation