A call to quantify how much public money was ploughed into ill-fated plans for a new secondary school in Fife has been issued.
Councillor Kay Morrison, the Labour group’s education spokeswoman on Fife Council, wants the local authority to come up with figures detailing exactly what has been spent pursuing proposals for a single-site replacement for Madras College on land at Langlands owned by St Andrews University over the last few years.
The plans have since collapsed after a deal which would have seen the council transfer land at South Street to the university and the Langlands site in turn transferred to the council fell through due to a gap in valuations.
With councillors expected to shed some light on where the project will turn next in the coming weeks, Ms Morrison remains keen to find out how much money was invested into the Langlands project.
She said: “Now that the dust has settled or is settling on the vision which has proved to be elusory, I think it’s important to face up to the reality of the cost of that dream.
“How much public money was spent on the preparation and all of the work that was conducted over a period of years? I think it’s only right that we know.”
Both St Andrews University and Fife Council had aspired to create one of the best schools in Europe when the Langlands plan was first mooted in 2006.
The £40 million school would have been closely linked to the academic activities of the university and would have enjoyed integrated facilities and shared services, according to the proposals.
However, a hope that the land swap deal could be done without money changing hands
ultimately proved to be a false one even after an independent valuer and Scottish Government ministers were called in to try to break the deadlock.
With the Langlands plan in tatters, the council is now examining other options, particularly whether or not a refurbishment of the existing Kilrymont building should be the next port of call.
That option was the one which has always been kept in reserve, should the university collaboration founder, despite the Langlands site being consistently described as the council’s preferred choice.
However, local people behind the recently-launched New Build, No Rebuild! campaign insist future Madras College pupils deserve a new-build school and reckon a refurbishment of Kilrymont is not the best way forward.
In response to Ms Morrison’s calls for clarity on how much money was spent on the failed project, chairman of Fife’s education and children’s services committee Councillor Douglas Chapman expressed his disappointment that an agreement with the university had not been reached.
Mr Chapman went on to criticise Labour’s stance over the issue.
“The Labour party seem to be taking great pleasure in the fact that the Madras College plan didn’t come to fruition and that is a disappointing attitude to take,” he said. “I will certainly find out if it (the cost) can be quantified and I’m not sure if all that information has been quantified.
“But I think we should be looking to the future and we had a very good discussion with parents this week about what’s happening in the future.
“That’s what we need to concentrate on: It’s not about looking back, it’s about pressing on with the future.
“We want to work with parents, work with the community and get on with the job of building a superb new school in the community.”