The site zoned for a new £52million super-campus to replace all schools in Tain would be just half the size of the new Wick Campus, it has emerged.
The new £48.5million facility in the Caithness town has the capacity for 1,180 pupils, while the Tain complex would be built for about 1,100 according to school roll forecasts.
Both projects involve a new secondary school and incorporating two primaries and a nursery – and in Tain pupils from St Duthus special needs school – as well as new community facilities.
The Ross-shire town’s library would also be relocated to the site as part of these facilities, which would include a swimming pool and floodlit sports pitches.
But, while the area occupied by the new Wick Campus is approximately 29.7 acres, the project in Tain would be built on just 15.3 acres of land.
A Highland Council spokeswoman said that the local authority’s design proposals for the Tain Campus deliver on its requirements.
Plans were submitted by the council last month for the new school and community project in Tain – and a total of 11 objections have since been lodged.
Key concerns raised include proposed playground facilities being too cramped and unsuitable for mixing three to 18-year-olds, and Academy pupils enduring four years of noise disruption – two years for construction and two years to demolish the existing building.
Tain Community Council states in its objection letter: “The community council has made no secret of the fact we doubted the viability of the 6.2 hectare Tain Royal Academy
site from the outset, but as Highland Council was determined to push the project forward, we gave the project team every opportunity to demonstrate they could make it work.
“The upshot is that serious questions remain over the impacts on neighbouring amenity, traffic, drainage, noise, educational disturbance and lack of future expansion space.
“Whichever way you try to look at it this project, it is nothing other than a significant over-development of an inadequately sized site and will cause problems from the first shovel to the end of its 60-year lifespan.”
The community council and other objectors want the council to consider building on an alternative site, either on council-owned land near Craighill Primary School or on a privately owned site near Asda, and they argue this could be done without jeopardizing planned housing projects.
In one objection letter, a Mrs C Hutton cites “lack of space” as a factor before adding: “Six hectares for all the education needs of the children 3-18 when Wick Campus has double that. Why? This is producing a number of problems.”
