Despairing Tillydrone parents are demanding a public meeting as construction of their new school is halted by council cost cutting.
Aberdeen finance bosses have suggested a months-long delay at the Riverbank Primary School building site.
Families, who have campaigned for the new build for more than a decade, are now “pleading” with the SNP and Liberal Democrat council leadership not to make them wait any longer.
The P&J was made aware of construction traffic clearing out on Wednesday.
Halt in Tillydrone school construction comes amid huge council cost cutting
Soaring prices in the construction trade – blamed on Covid, the war in Ukraine and Brexit – have hit the city hard.
And the new primary in Tillydrone looks to be one of the biggest casualties.
Even with officials looking to cut costs, the school is forecast to cost nearly £10m than planned – £36.2m.
Resources director Steve Whyte has suggested a pause – lasting at least four to six months – while the council goes back to the market to look for a better price.
Tillydrone parents fume as long-sought school construction faces new halt
Only two months ago, the SNP and Liberal Democrats committed to having the school built.
This Wednesday, they will vote on the proposed freeze.
A spokeswoman for Riverbank Parent Council said members are “deeply disappointed” that activity at the site had already stopped.
Pleading with council leaders not to “renege” on their promise, she added: “The children in our community deserve this building and we are very concerned that we do not know how long this further delay will be.
“The community has had no communication about the decision to stop building nor what the likely timescale for the school will be going forward.
“We find this completely unacceptable and demand that a public meeting be held to inform the community.”
Fight for new Tillydrone school has been waged for more than a decade
It has taken Tillydrone nearly 15 years to get to this point.
Concrete foundations for the new building on the site of the former Tillydrone and St Machar primaries have already been laid.
Riverbank was formed in an unpopular merger of St Machar and Donbank primaries in 2008, when the Lib Dems and SNP were last in charge at the Town House.
At the time, the “overcrowded” Dill Road school was described as “completely inadequate” for the combined number of pupils.
But in June 2020, a replacement with space for 650 school-aged and 100 nursery-aged children was approved.
There were hopes it would be open this year.
Tillydrone councillors clash over school delay
Local Labour councillor Ross Grant residents had grown concerned after the construction site was closed down “without any communication”.
“Having seen the foundation works progress at pace, it will come as a bolt from the blue for parents to hear that the project has already ground to a halt,” she said.
“The first thing that must now happen is that the council must immediately engage with local community groups and residents to understand what happens next.”
The new Riverbank – to be one of the largest schools in the city- is key to setting off a chain reaction of upgrades in Donside.
When the current Riverbank is emptied, it will be refurbished as the city’s first “green school” and taken over by St Peter’s RC Primary.
SNP council finance convener Alex McLellan – also a Tillydrone councillor – hit back at the criticism.
He said: “I really am surprised that Councillor Grant is not aware that his Labour-led administration, who were voted out of office back in May, failed to actually sign a contract for the rest of the works for the new Tillydrone Primary.
“I completely understand that this will be disappointing to hear for the parent council and wider community, so I would like to provide an assurance that the SNP and Liberal Democrat partnership now running Aberdeen City Council will deliver a new school for Tillydrone.”
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