£800k plan to fix high school’s roof
Hundreds of thousands of pounds could be spent on bolstering the gym’s roof at Castlehead High School in Paisley after the discovery of a potentially dangerous concrete.
Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) – a lightweight material that can be susceptible to failure when exposed to moisture – was identified at the Camphill facility in October.
A contract for strengthening works – worth in excess of £800,000 – will go before the finance, resources and customer services policy board today.
If approved, the deal will see contractor Hugh LS McConnell take on the project with the works scheduled to start in June.
Councillor Kenny MacLaren, an SNP representative for Paisley Northwest, said: “I know parents have been complaining about the length of time this has taken to pull together.
“Pupils can’t use the gym just now so obviously it’s had a knock-on effect on their education and clubs that are run in the school.
“Hopefully the contract will be approved on Thursday and the school can get back to functioning normally as soon as possible.”
A report to the board explained: “This procurement exercise is for the appointment of a suitably experienced contractor to provide roof strengthening works at Castlehead High School in Paisley, Renfrewshire.
“The works comprise of the installation of additional steelwork within the gym areas of the school to provide support in place of existing RAAC concrete within the ceiling/roof space.
“This will include renewing lighting, and taking down and reinstating main heating and water pipework for structural installation.”
Councillors on the board will be asked to authorise the head of corporate governance to award the contract with a sum of £825,752.57 excluding VAT.
A contingency spend of £82,575.26 would also need to be rubber-stamped.
The date of possession of the site is expected to be Monday, June 3, with the works due to take 17 weeks.
However, this would be confirmed in the letter of acceptance.
A council spokesperson said: “At the next meeting of the finance, resources and customer services policy board, councillors will consider a report seeking approval to appoint a contractor for works at Castlehead High. If approved, works will start in June.”
The local authority added that arrangements are in place to support pupils’ physical education in the meantime.
Pupils can’t use the gym so obviously it’s has a knock-on effect on their education and clubs