Plans to demolish a former Aberdeen primary school have moved forward with the council issuing a £120,000 contract for a firm to flatten the building.
Bucksburn Primary closed in 2013 after it was deemed surplus to requirements by council bosses who now want to reduce it to rubble and sell off the land.
It merged with the nearby Newhills School to form Brimmond Primary.
The disused building, off Inverurie Road, has lain empty since 2013 and plans are in place to carry out the demolition in the spring.
The £120,000 works will include tearing down the former school, nursery and outbuildings and removing all external fences, gates and play equipment.
Once this is complete, the 100,000 sq ft site is to be put on the market.
Aberdeen City Council’s local development plan last year highlighted the site as an option for a new health clinic.
It also made reference to potentially taking advantage of the land for housing or “other compatible uses”.
The report suggested a facility could be built there to replace the current GP clinic which serves Bucksburn and Bankhead, as it is no longer “fit for purpose”.
However, the city’s health and social care partnership later confirmed the idea was no longer being progressed.
Last year, when the council first tabled plans to knock down the building, Aberdeen Donside MSP Mark McDonald said it was important that locals be consulted on how they would like to see the land used.
He said: “While the local plan mentions healthcare, it also mentions housing and a vague concept of ‘other compatible uses’.
“It is important that the community is given as much involvement in any future plans, to ensure that they meet their aspirations for the Bucksburn area.”
Earlier this month, it was confirmed that the old Stoneywood Primary School in the city will be torn down.
The school, on Stoneywood Road, has been sitting empty since June 2018, after pupils finished up for the summer holidays and moved to a new premises.
A decision was also made earlier this year that Cordyce School in neighbouring community Dyce would be demolished after it was hit by fire in 2017.
Meanwhile, a contract was also tendered for a major project at the city’s Foresterhill Health Campus.
The initiative aims to put hospital visitors at ease, with NHS Grampian having previously said that making the hospital environment greener would help change the notion that health facilities should be associated with “illness” and “fear”.
NHS Grampian secured grant funding in 2017 for the project to enhance the health and wellbeing of staff, visitors, and neighbours to the site.
Hundreds of trees, extensive landscaping and new recreational areas will be added to the site as part of the £1.65 million project.
New paths will create a better network across the site, and water storage basins reduce run-off and flooding.
The precise location lies between the central stores complex to the east and the Foresterhill Health Centre to the west.
The project is 60% funded by NHS Grampian Endowments and 40% by an EU grant administered by Scottish Natural Heritage.
