The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Asbestos at school site delays plan for pitches
A community faces a longer-than-expected wait for new sports facilities after the discovery of asbestos forced a delay to the demolition of a disused school.
The “unfortunate” find of the potentially hazardous material at the former Inverurie Academy means extra safety precautions will have to be taken.
But it will also result in the installation of two all-weather sports pitches for the community campus being held up.
The local authority said it hopes to pull down the school later in the year with the pitches due to be completed next spring.
The demolition of the empty Inverurie Academy has been delayed after the discovery of “additional” asbestos at the site.
Inverurie Academy has not been used by pupils since they moved to the nearby Inverurie Community Campus.
Bosses at Aberdeenshire Council have said the old swimming pool and community centre will be pulled down soon. The school is due to go the same way next spring.
But the asbestos means that the building of two all-weather sports pitches for the community campus has also been held up.
The local authority said they hope to pull down the school later in the year with the new facilities due to be completed next spring.
Pupils from Inverurie Academy moved to the multi-million-pound community campus last year.
As well as the secondary school, it is also home to children from St Andrew’s School. It includes a swimming pool, gym, a number of fully equipped sports halls and a theatre.
Politicians hope the project can move forward.
North-east Conservative MSP Douglas Lumsden said the discovery of asbestos is “unfortunate”. He added that safety at the site is the priority.
He said: “The new academy is a modern, dynamic facility that Aberdeenshire Council can be proud of.
“There is a lot of scope for community use and the new all-weather pitches are going to be a big part of that.
“It’s unfortunate more asbestos has been found, which makes demolishing many old buildings extremely difficult.
“For safety, particularly now as contractors work around Covid restrictions, it’s best for them to proceed with caution.
“But it would be great to get the outdoor part of the campus finished as soon as possible.”
Inverurie and district councillor Neil Baillie said: “Understandably with the discovery of asbestos found in the old swimming pool, this has delayed the demolition of the old facility now replaced by the new Inverurie Community Campus.
“Of course, it is reasonable to expect to remove asbestos in a safe and appropriate manner as is being done in this case.
“I am sure that everyone will look forward to the new outdoor facilities and pitches enhancing the new campus when they are completed.”
A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said: “Structural demolition of the old swimming pool and community centre in Inverurie is due to begin imminently, following completion of the ongoing asbestos removal, and demolition of the old school will follow later this year.
“Additional asbestos was discovered within the structures and is being carefully removed in a planned manner.
“This has caused a delay to the project but we anticipate the all-weather pitches and all other external landscaping to be complete by spring 2022.”
The original Inverurie Academy building was designed by A Marshall Mackenzie in 1902.
The extended building saw pupils first attending higher grade classes in 1909.
At that time, there there were two distinct buildings. One was for children up to the age of 14 and the other for older secondary pupils.
They remained separate until the 1950s, when they were joined together with the construction of an assembly hall.