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.

New school approved for Elgin

The area where the new development is planned
The area where the new development is planned

Moray Council has rubber-stamped plans to reshape education in the region’s biggest town by building a new primary school.

The scheme was approved to tackle a capacity crisis at existing schools, and developers plotting a major expansion in the south of Elgin say they are “focused” on having the building in place within two years.

A site for the school has been earmarked to the west of the town’s Linkwood Road, and it will be connected to a multimillion-pound sports centre which is also scheduled to open in 2018.

Yesterday, members of the local authority’s children and young people’s services committee heard there was a “desperate” need to increase classroom space in Elgin and unanimously backed the project.

Senior education adviser, Paul Watson, said rolls had increased by 22% in Elgin’s eight primaries since 2011.

While the new school is under construction, children zoned for it will be taught in vacant space at East End Primary and will share several facilities with the children there from August.

The council has faced opposition from East End parents, who feel their youngsters are getting a raw deal by having to split their canteen, playground and gym space.

They also say that fuelling additional pupils to the building will create traffic problems on the surrounding streets.

But Moray Council has dismissed their complaints as “exaggerated” and said the move was key in alleviating overcrowding.

Earlier this month, Elgin-based Springfield Properties unveiled a masterplan to create 2,500 homes on the town’s southern fringe.

The massive development includes space for the school, on the proviso that Moray Council agreed the new building was necessary.

The company will build the new school, which will cost up to £12million, on behalf of the local authority.

Springfield chairman, Sandy Adam, said he was “delighted” with the committee’s decision and predicted it would “permanently relieve” the strain on primary schools in that part of the town.

He added: “Springfield teams worked with council officers and other stakeholders to prepare the masterplan, which includes a site for the new primary school.

“The council’s projections of pupil numbers indicate that the school must open by August 2018, and we are focused on making sure this date can be achieved.”

The council also launched moves to avert a potential capacity crisis at primary schools in Forres.

Officers will now consult residents on possible adjustments to the town’s catchment zones.