End in sight for Dumfries schools overhaul project

A council has agreed to endorse the £74m second phase of an education overhaul in a south of Scotland town.

It would complete a journey which began about a decade ago to modernise school provision in Dumfries.

The project would see a new Dumfries High School built, a major refurbishment of Dumfries Academy, and Loreburn Primary relocated.

It would mean all four secondary schools in the town had either been replaced or completely overhauled.

Proposals for a "super school" in Dumfries emerged in 2011.

The original idea was for a building - possibly on the old Dumfries Infirmary site - to house all of the town's S4 to S6 pupils.

The thinking was that it could allow a broader range of subjects to be studied and improve links with nearby Crichton campus.

However, it quickly ran into problems as parents and teachers voiced reservations about the plans.

As opposition grew, the idea was eventually dropped and replaced with a plan to retain four separate secondary schools - with two completely replaced and two substantially upgraded - as well as the construction of a new learning hub.

The scheme ended up being split into two parts with the first one getting under way in 2016.

A new North West Campus was built to replace Maxwelltown High School and a major upgrade began at St Joseph's College.

The new learning hub - called The Bridge - was also part of the opening phase.

They had been delivered by 2018, although the North West Campus suffered a series of safety issues which forced its closure just weeks after it had opened.

The second phase has proved more problematic - at least in funding terms.

In 2019, it emerged that original plans would have to be revised due to financial pressure.

It was supposed to see two new campuses built - one including Dumfries High School and Noblehill Primary with the other seeing Dumfries Academy redeveloped and Loreburn Primary relocated to the site.

A new Laurieknowe nursery and primary was also planned.

However, the plans at Noblehill and Laurieknowe had to be dropped to allow the project to proceed.

The council's education committee has backed the £74m project and recommended its approval to full council.

It would see £48m spent replacing Dumfries High School - a project which recently secured Scottish government support.

Construction work should start on that scheme in 2023.

The remainder of the costs would see £16.5m spent revamping Dumfries Academy and £7.1m moving Loreburn Primary - due to get under way next year.

More than £2m in management costs have also been set aside over five years to oversee the schemes.

Jeff Leaver, who chairs the committee, said it underlined the authority's commitment to delivering the entire project.