Plans for a new primary school which will accommodate more than 500 pupils in an expanding Aberdeenshire town have been approved.
Councillors yesterday backed proposals for a fourth primary school in Inverurie at Uryside, where hundreds of homes are currently being built.
The school will provide accommodation for about 540 pupils, three additional support needs rooms, a nursery, library, offices and an outdoor teaching area.
A floodlit multi-use games pitch, playing fields and running track will also be created on the 13 acre site, as well as a recycling area for the community.
Inverurie councillor Richard Cowling said yesterday the plans would address growing concerns around the capacity of the town’s primary schools.
The town’s Strathburn, Kellands and Inverurie Market Place schools are already struggling to cope with demand created by housing developments in the area.
Mr Cowling said: “We are not yet overcapacity but we don’t have a lot of room to manoeuvre.
“There has been a large population expansion which is the reason we have had to ensure the capacity of the school in absolute detail.
“It has been on the cards a number of years and we have finally got it moved on.”
He added: “People come to Inverurie and find it is the kind of place they want to live and have children and bring up their families. It is a good endorsement of the town and the way things are.”
Meanwhile, Aberdeenshire Council has been ordered to pay nearly £60,000 in expenses to Barratt East Scotland and Malcolm Allan Housebuilders after councillors’ decision to block plans for 864 homes at Uryside were overturned at appeal.