A new Moray secondary school will be built without a swimming pool because the council can’t afford to splash out on the facility.
Lossiemouth High School pupils were overjoyed earlier this year when the Scottish Government announced plans to erect a replacement school beside the existing one.
The £20million project is to be jointly funded by the Scottish Futures Trust and Moray Council.
But amid uncertainty over the amount it is expected to pay towards the scheme, and facing a spending crisis, the local authority yesterday agreed to begin construction without incorporating plans for a pool.
Moray Council’s head of lifelong learning, culture and sport, Graham Jarvis, explained the predicament to elected members during a crunch finance meeting.
Mr Jarvis said that if the government group offered to help cover funding of the school building only, then the council would have to pay an additional £3-4million to create a pool and community centre.
He added that maintaining the extra facilities would cost the cash-strapped authority at least £4million over a 25-year period.
Mr Jarvis said: “We have to look at what we can afford to build, not what we want to build.”
Members agreed to begin the work on the school without the pool or community centre originally tabled as part of the building.
Elgin City South councillor Graham Leadbitter predicted a furious response from the local community.
Mr Jarvis said the idea of knocking the old school down, while leaving its swimming pool intact, could present “technical difficulties”.
Heldon and Laich councillor John Cowe vowed to investigate other funding avenues to ensure the town would not have to go without a council swimming pool.
The new Lossiemouth High School is scheduled to open in March, 2020.
