Construction on a new multi-million-pound secondary school which was left in limbo for months due to a complex national funding wrangle will begin next spring.
Plans to replace Elgin High School have been in the pipeline for years.
Moray Council thought they had finally cracked the issue in February when planning permission for the £28m development was approved.
Work was initially due to start in April and then this summer, but a change in European accounting legislation – known as ESA10 – forced the Scottish Government to stall the project indefinitely after changes to rules that govern non-profit distributing.
Last night, local worries evaporated as deputy first minister John Swinney announced the 1,000-pupil Elgin secondary was one of ten schools and two health centres across the country which now have the all-clear to proceed.
A jubilant Laurence Findlay, the council’s corporate director of education and social care, said: “This is a significant investment for the young people and the families of New Elgin, who thoroughly deserve their new school.”
He added: “Everyone has been frustrated by the delay, from parents, officers, staff and students to politicians locally and nationally, and the six month delay has resulted in a cost of £530,000, which is a significant sum in these difficult financial times.
“This is an 18-month project, and if all goes to plan, we should have the pupils in the new school just after the October holidays 2017.
“I have to commend the school’s headteacher, Andy Simpson, for showing tremendous leadership throughout this journey and really keeping the pupils and staff going.”
The majority of funding comes from public-private finance group, the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) as part of its Scotland-wide hub.
Mr Swinney said: “The Scottish Government has always prioritised public infrastructure projects as a critical tool for growing our economic recovery.
“I am therefore delighted to be able to confirm that the ten schools and two health centre projects within the hub programme will now proceed.
“That is around £330m of capital investment in our children’s education, our NHS and Scotland’s economy.”
A government spokeswoman confirmed yesterday that discussions will now take place “in the coming weeks” with regard to the SFT covering the additional costs incurred by councils due to delays of up to £500,000 per project.