The fate of several major projects in Aberdeen will hang in the balance for three more weeks, after a final decision was delayed by the council today.
Members of the finance committee passed a motion to pause progress on the new Tillydrone Primary School and construction of new council homes at its meeting on Wednesday.
But at the last minute, Labour councillor Ross Grant asked to defer the decision until the next meeting of the full council – a move that was backed by the required five fellow councillors.
That means communities affected by the proposed changes will need to wait until August 24 to find out if they are going ahead.
A large question mark also hangs over a project to revamp St Joseph’s Nursery in the city’s West End, as its cancellation by councillors was approved before the deferment.
Uncertainty for Tillydrone as decision delayed
Much of the discussion at the meeting was reserved for the proposal to delay the long-awaited new Tillydrone Primary School.
Council bosses want to retender the contract for the school’s construction in the belief they will be able to get the project completed for less money.
However, that would mean the opening of the state-of-the-art new school would not take place until after the summer holidays in 2024, with officers saying it would move the target date to August rather than Easter time.
Opposition councillors believe it should still be possible to open the replacement for the existing Riverbank School on the original timeline, meaning pupils would move to the new building in summer next year.
Mr Grant voiced skepticism that a new tender would mean a better deal and said he wanted his son, who attends the school, to enjoy the benefit of the new facilities along with his friends.
He said: “Our view is that there is not a guarantee we will end up with a better price, or even a price that is the same.”
‘All councillors should have say on projects delay’
Resources director Steve Whyte admitted there was uncertainty about whether the move would pay off, but believed it was a gamble worth taking.
He said: “In a couple of years’ time, I could be in front of an audit committee being asked why we put it back out to tender.
“Equally, in a couple of years’ time, I could be in front of an audit committee being asked why we didn’t.”
Mr Grant made clear that the Tillydrone School project was largely behind his move to delay the final decision, saying: “We want the administration to reconsider their position, it’s not too later and we hope that common sense will prevail.
“If they reconsider, then we will not be looking at a 12-month delay. The power is in their hands.”
He added that the report has “far wider consequences”, and he believes it would be right for all councillors should get to have their say on it.
But SNP finance committee convener Alex McLellan warned the delay could ultimately push the school’s opening back even further, as officers are forced to wait longer before putting the tender back out.
Rapidly inflating costs behind moves to balance budget
The new school at Tillydrone has proved to be a symbol of the massive toll inflation is taking on council construction projects – which is the reason such projects were being reconsidered by the committee.
The school is currently projected to cost £36.2 million, nearly £10m more than originally planned.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Mr Whyte explained that inflation in the construction sector was even more dramatic than in the economy as a whole.
In the last year, inflation in the industry was between 20% and 24%, with prices still rising by around 0.25% every week.
The price of plasterboard, widely used in the local authority’s building projects, has shot up by 82% in the past 12 months, and the cost of shipping products like steel has also skyrocketed.
Conservative councillor Michael Kusznir, who acted as a substitute for the party’s group leader Ryan Houghton in submitting his amendment to the motion, said he recognised the “smorgasbord of pressures”.
However, he said it did not justify the SNP/Liberal Democrat administration taking an “abattoir hand to key capital projects”.
He also expressed concern that pausing much-needed building works could be a precursor to cancelling them altogether.
But SNP councillors argued that pressing ahead with the projects would mean money would have to be saved elsewhere.
John Cooke, who represents the Hazlehead, Queens Cross and Countesswells ward, said: “Tell us where the money is coming from.
“Tell us the things we should cancel to go ahead with the things you want.”
And addressing the potential delay in construction of new council housing, Mr McLellan asked: “Are you going to burden tenants with additional costs further down the line?
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