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 Tillydrone school delayed AGAIN as ‘exasperated’ parents left in limbo

Councillor Ross Grant believes both Tillydrone and St Peters RC children "can't afford further delays" as the opening has been delayed again.

Drone image of the Tillydrone school, which is currently under construction.
Construction of the new Riverbank School in Tillydrone is still ongoing. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

Tillydrone parents are “exasperated” with the lack of updates on the new Riverbank School after it missed its scheduled summer opening date.

Work on the replacement facility initially started back in December 2021 after it was delayed by the pandemic.

But everything was paused in August 2022 after the total cost increased to £36.2 million – nearly £10 million more than originally thought.

Construction eventually restarted last year after a retendering process aimed at cutting rising costs.

Progress at the new Riverbank School in Tillydrone. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

Despite the temporary pause, Aberdeen City Council was confident the new school would be open in summer 2024.

But, we are now halfway through November and workers are still on site.

So what is going on?

‘Good progress’ on Tillydrone School – but when will it open?

Tillydrone councillor Ross Grant says the community is “exasperated with near total lack of transparency” over the project.

He noted that some parents were concerned that yet another set of P7 leavers would be denied the chance to benefit from the new school.

The Labour member revealed he had long suspected construction would face delays and believes the local authority had known there would be hurdles along the way.

Councillor Ross Grant pictured outside Riverbank School in Tillydrone. Image: Heather Fowlie/DC Thomson

However, a recent report suggested “good progress” had been made on the site but poor weather had caused some problems.

It also stated that the updated completion date is expected to be late winter, meaning the school could now open by February.

A spokeswoman for the local authority suggested their initial timeline has also been affected by unexpected issues with water supply to the building.

Contractors are working hard to prevent any further delays and council officers are keeping a close eye on the school’s progress.

Pupils ‘can’t afford further delays’

Mr Grant noted that the building was originally scheduled to open last summer but says both Tillydrone and St Peters RC children “can’t afford further delays”.

He has reached out to council officials in a bid to get some answers on the proposed timescale for the project.

Drone image of the Tillydrone school, which is currently under construction.
Progress is being made at the new Riverbank School in Tillydrone. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

The councillor said: “The completion of the new school is now 15 months late and it will be at least 18 months delayed by the time we work through winter 2024.

“Parents whose P7 children are becoming increasingly anxious that they will never have the opportunity of learning in brand new school facilities.

“I know from experience the disappointment that my eldest child felt when we had to tell him that the project was delayed.”

The image shows workers on a scaffolding at Tillydrone school, which is currently under construction.
Workers pictured at the new Riverbank School. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

Mr Grant added: “Anyone in the area can obviously see that the project looks still to be a fair way away from completion.

“We are not showing the parents, staff and pupils of Riverbank Primary School a suitable level of respect if we continue to be unwilling to be more open and transparent with them around the current position of the project and what the timescales will be.

“We should be doing them a courtesy of providing them with a clearer plan on when the project is set to be completed.”

What does the council have to say?

A spokeswoman for Aberdeen City Council confirmed the contractor is still targeting late winter for completion of the construction works.

Drone image of the Tillydrone school, which is currently under construction.
The new Riverbank School in Tillydrone could be open by February. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson

She added: “A potential issue to the programme recently advised by the contractor regarded the new water supply connection from Scottish Water.

“The council will continue to monitor the works and will liaise with the contractor to ensure clear information on the completion date can be provided.

“Officers will also continue to closely liaise with the school and local community regarding the decant of the existing school to the new premises in due course.”

Meanwhile, the SNP’s Tillydrone councillor Alex McLellan accused his Labour rival of “concentrating on the negatives, instead of the fact that the SNP are delivering significant investment in the new primary school”.

He added: “Labour, including Mr Grant, failed to deliver this project over their years in power and the SNP have pushed it forward since taking control in 2022.”


Read more

Conversation