Moray Council is paying rent to store two unused temporary nursery classrooms at a site in Aberdeenshire.
Bought at a cost of £260,000, the units were to be used so pre-school children from Aberlour Primary could move out to allow for refurbishment work to be carried out.
However the classrooms will not be used for that purpose.
It is thought to be costing the local authority around £90 a week to store the units at a site in Kintore.
Nursery refurb costs up to £1.017m
An inquiry into why the council spent £260,000 on the classrooms has been launched.
The cost of the nursery refurbishment at Aberlour has now risen from £900,000 to £1.017 million.
At an education committee meeting this week, councillor for Fochabers Lhanbryde Marc Macrae asked if the local authority was paying rent for the units.
Early years manager Hazel Sly confirmed they were.
Speyside Glenlivet Derek Ross questioned whether they could have been used to accommodate pupils at Elgin High School.
Modular classrooms have been put in place at the secondary at a cost of £326,000, to cope with over capacity.
Mr Ross said: “I wondered if we needed to buy modular classrooms since we have two in Aberdeenshire.
“I was wondering if there were any plans to adapt those and save ourselves some money.”
Jo Shirriffs head of education resources and communities said they were “specificity designed” for nursery provision, and not suitable for Elgin High pupils.
Units no good for Elgin High pupils
She added the units at the secondary were bought because they would be useful for other building projects in the learning estate programme.
Initially Aberlour nursery children were to be moved out of the building after the Easter holidays for six months, to allow work to be carried out.
One of the temporary classrooms was to be placed in the grounds of the primary.
The other was to be sited at nearby Speyside High School.
But that did not meet with Care Commission guidance.
And a planning application for an outdoor nursery in a field next to the village’s cemetery was withdrawn in December.
Now the first phase of the work will begin during this year’s summer holiday period.
Speyside Glenlivet councillor Juli Harris felt there had been “quite a significant increase” in the cost of the Aberlour project.
Ms Harris was also disappointed the work was being postponed until the summer.
The inquiry into buying the units was sparked when councillors raised concerns over the procedures used.
‘Significant increase’
A council spokesperson previously said the cost of storing the units has been factored into the overall price for the project.
Results of the investigation into procuring the classrooms will be reported to a meeting of the audit and scrutiny committee in May.
The nursery upgrade is part of the council’s expansion of the early years service.
It is to provide 1,140 hours of childcare for three to five year olds and eligible two year olds.
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