The £71 million Peterhead Academy project has been hit with a lengthy delay.
It was anticipated that the new community campus – which officials say will bring “enormous value” to the town – would be complete by mid-2026.
However, Aberdeenshire Council revealed today that the project will now be delayed until January 2028 “at the earliest” after preferred contractor, Robertson Group, pulled out.
A local authority spokesperson said: “The project was already experiencing delays following issues with the required supply chain and market volatility.
“The withdrawal of Robertson’s as preferred contractor means that further work is required to reconsider options to progress the project.”
Aberdeenshire Council still ‘committed’ to bringing campus to life
The project has identified a vacant site at Kinmundy for the new Peterhead Academy and Anna Ritchie School, which would relocate from Grange gardens.
Dales Park and Meethill schools would also merge to form a new school at Kinmundy.
The campus would provide space for around 2,070 secondary and primary pupils.
Modern leisure, sport and community facilities were also promised.
In the update today, the council said it is still committed to pressing ahead.
The spokesperson added: “A further update will be provided following engagement with the construction sector on the best way to proceed, likely costs and timescales.
“Aberdeenshire Council remains committed to building a new community campus for Peterhead.
“However, it is likely that the project completion will now be delayed until January 2028 at the earliest.”
Robertson Group forced to make ‘difficult decision’
Robertson Group, meanwhile, have said that the decision to withdraw from the project was a difficult one.
A spokesperson for Robertson Construction said: “Robertson has a close working relationship with Aberdeenshire Council and has been delivering projects on its behalf for many years.
“However, following a lengthy period of collaborative value engineering involving all stakeholders, we have taken the difficult decision to withdraw from the Peterhead Community Campus project.
“As a responsible business, we need to ensure that any project that we undertake meets certain criteria for our customers, ourselves, and our supply chain members to achieve successful project outcomes.
“Aberdeenshire Council remains an important customer and we look forward to working with them again in the future.”
Designs for the new campus were submitted in March 2023, and a consultation was launched on the plans.
At the time, chairman of the education and children’s services committee, councillor Gillian Owen, said she believed the development would be of huge benefit to the young people of Peterhead.
“Not only will this project bring an educational benefit, but the leisure and community facilities will be of enormous value to the wider Peterhead community,” she said.
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