A swimming pool will be retained as part of a major project to replace a Moray secondary school after a vote to save it from the axe.
The condition of Lossiemouth High School has led to it being ranked one of the worst amenities in Scotland, with a repair backlog of more than £4million.
Yesterday, councillors voted to continue with plans for the replacement building to include a swimming pool, library and community centre despite fears being raised Moray Council could no longer afford it.
Since the project was approved last year, the cost of the project has risen from £31million to an estimated £36million.
However, Heldon and Laich councillor, John Cowe, maintained last night that retaining all the current facilities in the new building was “common sense”.
He said: “Moray Leisure Centre costs the council £700,000 a year to run. We were looking for an extra £700,000 to cover the lifetime of the swimming pool in Lossiemouth.
“I was at the pool this week and I couldn’t get in the door because of the amount of children who were there for swimming lessons.
“With the new facilities, there will be savings on how much it costs to run. All you need to do is put an extra £1 a head on it to cover the cost.”
A report prepared for yesterday’s meeting stated the Lossiemouth pool was the least strategically important in the region and argued the authority could not afford to build it.
Moray Council has already committed £13.7million to the project. And councillors approved an extra £900,000 to make up a shortfall to retain the swimming pool.
Mr Cowe was backed by the other three Heldon and Laich councillors to maintain the pool within the brief.
Council officers blamed sandy soil and Ministry of Defence requirements for costs soaring by more than £4million since last year.
Graham Jarvis, the council’s head of lifelong learning, culture and sport, said: “We have had early discussions with the MoD about contributing to PE facilities or the school itself.
“Clearly, they are spending hundreds of thousands of pounds behind the fence. The end result of those discussions was no outcome.”
Forres councillor, George Alexander, was supported in a bid by council leader, Stewart Cree, to exclude the swimming pool from the plans.
He said: “I don’t know about anyone else, but I live in the real world, not a parallel universe where we build things we can’t afford.”
However, councillors voted to retain the swimming pool by 19 votes to five with one abstention.
The preservation of the swimming pool at the new Lossiemouth High School has been hailed as another tourism boost for the coastal town.
Thousands of visitors descend on the community every summer to enjoy the sandy shores.
And last night, Mike Mulholland, chairman of Lossiemouth Community Council, insisted a swimming pool was essential to maintain visitor numbers.
He said: “There is such a large amount of growth here at the moment with the RAF expansion and all the new houses that are getting built.
“There has been a lot of expansion at the caravan park too. A swimming pool is part of keeping all these tourists coming to Lossiemouth.
“The current pool is popular with Moray residents and clubs too though. People come from Elgin because it’s the best in the area.”
