New schools could be delayed and cost more

THERE are concerns that replacement high schools for St Columba’s, Woodmill and Inverkeithing could be delayed and cost a lot more.

Fife Council said supply chain problems, availability of contractors, rising inflation and increasing costs of materials and labour are all having a major impact on their capital plans.

Building work is under way at the Dunfermline Learning Campus, which will house St Columba’s and Woodmill, and it’s already £11 million over budget, pushing the price up to £122m with fears that total could climb higher.

The council set aside £202m previously, to also include the new Inverkeithing High, and finance chief Eileen Rowand said: “The risks associated with the project relate to the potential impact of inflation on construction costs, the cost pressure arising from the requirement to design the schools to net zero, and the potential risks in the market around the availability and supply of labour and materials to complete the schools within the required timescale (August 2024 and August 2026 respectively).”

Major capital projects are classed as any that cost £5m and over. There are currently 20 on the go with an overall budget of just over £714m and an update was given to councillors at last week’s cabinet committee.

At this stage, they’re estimating an overspend of £17m – most of that is due to the schools project – which head of finance Elaine Muir admitted “may be optimistic”.

She said there was a “positive result” with 86 per cent of investment going ahead as planned in 2021-22.

However, Ms Muir added that a number of issues, which had been “building over the year”, were set to increase the financial risks to the council.

Ms Rowand’s report to the committee explained: “There is a risk across the capital investment plan that both the timing and the costs of projects continue to be adversely affected as a result of the current economic climate following the response to COVID-19, Brexit and current geo-political risks in Europe.

“Throughout the programme, issues are continuing to be identified in relation to the supply of construction materials which are resulting in delays to projects, which in turn could lead to increased slippage and increased costs.”

However, she added that the “overall future impact of this is difficult to predict” and any additional costs or delays were being kept under review.

Ms Rowand also said it was “critical” that the council gets the money to cover the cost of the Scottish Government’s intention to expand free school meals to all primary school pupils. The roll-out has now been delayed until the New Year and she said there had been “no further update” from Holyrood.