Tain ‘super-school’ 3-18 campus hit with six-month delay, Highland Council confirms
A TROUBLE-HIT new-build multimillion-pound super-school campus due to replace unfit-for-purpose facilities in an Easter Ross town has been delayed by at least six months, it has emerged.
The completion date for the new Tain 3-18 campus has been delayed - and a council insider has warned that unless the new build is made wind and watertight, those delays could grow further still.
The building - which will replace Tain Royal Academy and several local primary schools - was due to be completed next month, with pupils entering the school in early 2025.
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Contractor Kier Construction was hit with complaints from residents about localised flooding early on in the project.
The setbacks experienced mean that pupils who were originally expected to enter the school in early 2025 are unlikely to do so before next August – months later than originally planned.
Highland Council confirmed the news at this week’s housing and property committee where a report revealed: “Delays have been experienced in some of the construction work elements.
“The contractor has produced a revised programme indicating a building handover date of June 2025, which results in an operational date of August 2025.
“As a result of the delay to the overall programme, a letter will be sent to the Scottish Government formally requesting an extension to the previous completion date of December 2024.
“The council’s project team is continuing to monitor progress with a particular focus on quality as this is the first Passivhaus [an ultra-low energy-use building] project that the council has undertaken.”
A source within Highland Council told us that unless everything else falls into place, delays could grow.
“First, the construction is a major endeavour but there have been problems – there’s no point in ignoring them,” they said.
“Residents near the construction site have been affected by water ingress to gardens and driveways – they have had other issues but this is related to potential delays.
“That may be related to work at the site digging up a field drain, and there has been a lot of water on the site earlier in the project after all the field drains were removed so the contractor will be fighting that night and day.
“On top of that there could be more delays because another contractor is supposed to be installing the windows – if they get delayed that will have knock-on effects.
"PassivHaus is a very exacting standard to reach involving specialist sub-contractors especially for the roofing. It is vital this is sealed so work like wiring can proceed inside. A building that cannot be made wind and watertight with those windows is a building that cannot have any internal work done – that is where more delays could emerge.
“As for the six-month delay – that is anybody’s guess but it would be unsurprising if it lasted longer than that.”
One of those who campaigned for the new school for years is local councillor and chairman of the audit committee Derek Louden. We put those concerns to him as a member of the administration.
He said: “Clearly, there has been a delay but it looks like the new school will be delivered in the summer, and of course as one of those who campaigned for this much-needed new school that is really what we're longing to see.
“We will be keeping a close eye on the developments and a new schedule has been issued by the contractor that should be adhered to though this is a very complicated project.
“At the same time, we have to remember what the old school is like and what we are getting now and it is a massive improvement. I believe the whole community is looking forward to it being finished”
He added: “It is right that we recognise issues but simultaneously remember that it should not be our whole focus and we are grateful for a major investment that many places in the Highlands would be seriously grateful for.”
A Highland Council spokesperson said: “The new Tain Campus project has encountered a delay in meeting the December 2024 project handover date.
“The principal contractor for the project has been working closely with their subcontractors to mitigate this impact and has now produced a revised programme indicating a building handover date of June 2025, which results in an operational date of August 2025.
“This information was shared with the Project Stakeholder Group at a meeting in September 2024, and the Scottish Futures Trust have been kept informed.
The Council’s project team is continuing to monitor progress with a particular focus on quality as this is the first Passivhaus project that this Council has undertaken.”
Kier Construction has been invited to comment.
