Plans for a £12million replacement school in Aberdeenshire will move forward this week if councillors approve plans detailing the next phase of development.
The local authority’s policy and resources committee will discuss proposals to create a replacement school after a fire broke out at Kinellar Primary on New Years Day, leaving the nursery and primary one classroom destroyed.
Plans to replace the facility had been on the cards for a number of years.
Councillors will be asked to approve the £12,193,150 cost of the demolition and replacement build of Kinellar Primary school as well as addressing the provision of a temporary nursery and associated parking facilities at the site.
It is estimated the demolition and reconstruction of the school will take approximately 20 months to complete.
During that period, it is proposed that pupils are relocated to the new Midmill School in Kintore which will be ready by January 2017.
Aberdeenshire Council has already agreed to provide transport for all pupils who require it during this transition.
The new Kintore primary will boost the school’s capacity to 350 pupils, whilst the current school roll sits at 398 pupils.
It is hoped the new school will help accommodate the rapid growth which the village of Kinellar has experienced in recent years, causing the original village school to be expanded on several occasions.
East Garioch councillor, Martin Ford, said: “A new school is urgently required, leaving aside the issues of the fire.
“The existing buildings have got multiple extensions on them which are clearly not suitable anymore for the requirements of the school.
“The school is performing well, but the building is no longer satisfactory and the school roll has also increased considerably year on year. This has seen additions to school buildings being made at least twice in the last couple of years to help cope with increasing numbers.
“The council has allocated a budget and clearly recognises the need for a new school and it has been frustrating we were unable to acquire the site we originally earmarked.
“We are now looking at Plan B, and though there are still some issues, in principle we are keen to explore the options of rebuilding the school on the current site.”