£8m school plan making progress
First phase of work is due to begin in 2020
West Lothian Council is moving forward with plans to build a new £8 million primary school in Calderwood near East Calder by 2021.
The school will be initially be built as a single stream primary school with capacity for 231 pupils with a 64-place nursery as part of the first phase.
The first phase is scheduled to start on site in March 2020 with the school opening in August 2021 and will cost approximately £8 million.
Further phases will be added as housebuilding at the Calderwood Core Development Area housing progresses.
Executive councillor for Education, David Dodds, who is also a former school teacher, said: “More and more people are moving into the area and West Lothian is very much an area of growth.
“This brings a huge number of benefits to the area and we should be very proud of West Lothian’s pro-active approach to supporting economic growth through the provision of infrastructure.
“It is vitally important that the council rises to challenge of providing important local services, and we are striving to do that.
“That is not easy at a time when our funding from the Scottish Government is not enough to meet increasing costs associated with growth in our population. By 2022, there will be more primary school children and more secondary school children in West Lothian.
“It’s fantastic that so many people choose to live in West Lothian but that brings challenges for the council. That’s why we are focusing our resources and services on West Lothian’s priorities.
“We’ve recently announced plans to build three new schools in Winchburgh and we’ve continued to invest in extending and improving a large number of schools throughout West Lothian.
“We have one of the best school estates in the country - which is vitally important considering that we have an increasing number of pupils within our schools.
“I’m delighted that there will be a new school in Calderwood which will enhance a growing area and provide a first class facility for local children to learn and develop.”