Press Releases	20/08/2004 10:38:54
"Council awaits Executive green light for six new schools"

The future of East Dunbartonshire Council's £100m school improvement programme - that plans to build six new schools across the area - is now in the hands of the Scottish Executive.

It is sixteen months since the Executive told the Council that it was prepared to invest £100m to rebuild school buildings on the basis that a sound business case be presented.

At a special Council meeting last night (Thursday), East Dunbartonshire's Councillors agreed a Revised Outline Business Case that explained how the Council, through a PPP project, will build six new schools over the next five years.

Council Leader John Morrison is delighted that, after extensive community consultation, the Council is poised to make the biggest ever investment in its education and in its young people.

He said, "I believe that we have produced a robust business case and that the Scottish Executive will recognise that it represents the aims and aspirations of the people of East Dunbartonshire. We are committed to delivering six state-of-the-art schools designed to cope with the demands of
education in the 21st century and await a response from Edinburgh."

The result of the £100m PPP programme will be six schools for 5,800 pupils providing 61,692 square metres of learning space. This breaks down as follows:

· Bearsden Academy - £19m - 1,200 pupils - 11,733 square metres

· Bishopbriggs HS/Thomas Muir HS rebuild - £19.4m - 1,200 pupils - 11,733 square metres

· Douglas Academy - £18.1m - 1,050 pupils - 11,384 square metres

· Kirkintilloch HS - £16.2m - 850 pupils - 9,327 square metres

· St. Ninian's HS - £15.8m - 850 pupils - 9,327 square metres

· Turnbull HS - £13.8m - 650 pupils - 8,188 square metres

The financial information that the Council has submitted to the Executive is an estimate of how much the PPP project will cause. The actual cost won't be known until the Council has come to the end of the procurement process and a contract has been agreed with the preferred bidder.

Councillor Morrison said, "We have taken the best advice available and our projections are based on that. Planning for such a huge building project is a complex and dynamic exercise influenced by UK economic conditions. Regular updates on the financial aspects of the project will be brought to Councillors and local people will be kept up to date.

"I'd like to reassure the people of East Dunbartonshire that we are aware of the investments that we will need to make to keep this project on track.

"East Dunbartonshire has one of the best educational achievement records in Scotland and we will do what it takes to give our young people and teachers the facilities and equipment they need to build on that success and continue to aim higher."

Ends (470 words)

Contact: Claire Robertson, Public Affairs, 0141 578 8032
Date: Friday 13 August 2004