Costs of school projects exceed budget

THE construction costs of two Dundee primary schools are set to come in over budget.

Dundee City Council has revealed that the new Coldside primary school and community facility and the new NorthEastern school campus will both cost several hundred thousand pounds more than originally planned.

A report due to go before councillors next week reveals the local authority will need to borrow money to help fund both projects.

Updating elected members on capital spending for the 2017/18 financial year, executive director of corporate services Greg Colgan said there would be increased spending of £760,000 on the Coldside development. He said: “This has been updated to take account of the revised costs... and unforeseen ground conditions encountered on site. “This will be funded from borrowing.” Regarding the North-Eastern campus, Mr Colgan said there was an “increase in projected total cost of £300,000” for the development.

In total, the council expects it will spend £2.607 million more than it had planned on capital projects during 2017/18.

However, less cash than planned will be spent this year on several projects — meaning the money will instead be allocated to future years.

That includes a drop of more than £14m for the V&A — although Mr Colgan said that money will be moved to 2018/19 and insists it will not impact on the completion date or planned opening date for the new museum.

There have also been delays in spending on the Regional Performance Centre for Sport at Caird Park — which was approved earlier this week — and the coastal protection works which are currently under way in Riverside Drive, while designs for the stretch at Broughty Ferry are completed.