The company staging a legal fight against building a new Madras school at Pipeland has been challenged to face up to the responsibility of its actions.
Stepal has again been accused of issuing misleading information by Fife Council’s education spokesman Bryan Poole.
The latest twist came after Stepal said it welcomed a statement by Mr Poole that delays in the Pipeland school project were not due to the judicial review it had initiated.
However, Mr Poole, having first apologised to the people of St Andrews for “yet another exchange”, countered with: “Sadly and inexplicably, Stepal has again chosen to put inaccurate and misleading information into the public domain on this occasion fabricating a statement from me which demands a response.
“I would suggest they revisit the statement I issued and they will see that I stated ‘As soon as the judicial review was lodged we knew the original timeframe was no longer achievable’.
“The corollary of that is pretty obvious if there hadn’t been a judicial review lodged then the original timeframe, a new Madras ready in the autumn of 2016, would have been achieved.”
Stepal company chairman Mary Jack also queried a council report, which she said stated: “This project is showing a slippage of £1.45 million as a result of the delay caused by the judicial review.
“The review decision is expected in the spring of 2015. Detailed design work is continuing. However, the completion date is now anticipated as 2017.”
She said: “As Fife Council have very recently produced new designs for a flood alleviation system… and as this requires a three-week consultation period, it is clear that this and previous revisions of the plans have caused the ‘slippage’ which the report describes.
“It would be helpful if Mr Poole would advise his officials of the correct position.”
However, Mr Poole retorted that the group seemed to “confuse or conflate” the slippage in a committee report with the design of a flooding alleviation scheme.
This slippage, he explained, was an underspend of the capital budget the council expected to have spent at this time in its original timeframe.
“Given that there is to be a judicial review, it would be irresponsible to proceed with the programmed spend until the judicial review is settled.
“Stepal’s reference to the design of a flooding alleviation scheme is deliberately, or otherwise, a red herring.”
“Finally, I think we need to be open and honest about our respective responsibilities with regard to the Madras project,” he added.
“Fife Council made a decision, effectively endorsed by the Scottish Government, to build the new Madras College at Pipeland. I am one of those responsible for that decision.”
He said the timeframe was to have pupils in the new school in autumn 2016.
“A judicial review was lodged by Stepal, resulting in the autumn 2016 timeframe no longer being achievable.
“Stepal is responsible for the lodging of the judicial review. I’m content to bear my responsibilities with regard to the new Madras College.
“The directors of Stepal should be big enough to face up to the consequences arising from their action of lodging of a judicial review one of them being a delay in the provision of a New Madras.”