Council bosses are poised to rubber stamp a £50 million plan to replace the region’s biggest school.
Ageing Perth High will be rebuilt as part of a major five-year project, the Courier can reveal.
The plan is expected to be given the green light at Perth and Kinross Council capital budget talks next week.
However, funding for other major projects will have to be slashed to help pay for the redevelopment.
These include the long-standing PH20 project to revamp Perth Leisure Pool.
Plans for a new school at Oudenarde and a replacement primary at Pitlochry are also likely to be shelved.
Council bosses intend to push ahead with a new recreation centre at Blairgowrie, but its budget could be cut by £3 million.
Perth High, which has a roll of 1,600, dates back to the 1960s and its condition was rated as “poor” in a survey of school estates.
Council leader Murray Lyle said: “This is the biggest capital project that this administration will enter into and we have had to make sacrifices elsewhere to make it happen.”
He said: “Our officers have recommended to us that Perth High School is in a poor condition and it has probably gone beyond its life expectancy.
“It’s not just the infrastructure of the building, it’s the design too. The school has very narrow corridors which cause congestion between classes. Also, there are no communal areas that are fit for purpose.”
He said there was room in the school grounds for the new building, meaning that the school would not have to be closed during construction.
“We also wanted to avoid decanting pupils to another school,” said Mr Lyle.
“We just didn’t want to leave this until much longer. We don’t want to wait until we are the cliff edge and we end up having to close the building.”
Mr Lyle said he didn’t want to borrow more money for the project.
“We had hoped that we would get some funding from the Scottish Futures Trust (part of the Scottish Government). We have been in dialogue with them, but there has been an indication that we aren’t going to get funding from them.
“If they had a change of heart we would welcome any assistance with open arms.”
Meanwhile, work is ongoing at the city’s £32.5 million Bertha Park school. The 1,100-capacity building is due to open next year.
Sacrifices made for Perth High project
Perth and Kinross Council is considering chopping nearly £5 million from the long-standing PH20 project to help pay for the new Perth High School.
The scheme, run by Live Active Leisure (LAL), aims to replace Perth Leisure Pool with a £25 million state-of-the-art facility.
In a report to councillors, senior accountants insist the council will continue to work with LAL to review and progress the project.
Council leader Murray Lyle said: “This is a LAL-led project and I know it will cause some concern for them.
“But it does give them a credible steer as to where they are going in the future.
“There is nothing to stop them from getting money from elsewhere to complete this project. It is a case of closing one door, but also opening up new opportunities.”
He said: “That was definitely one of the tougher decisions that we’ve had to make.
“But it has been a pot of money that has been lying around for years and no decision was made on it.”
Plans to build a new primary at Oudenarde are being put on hold, saving just over £10 million. The long-standing housing scheme was delayed earlier this year when the Scottish Government called in the planning application, just hours before it was due to be approved.
Councillors will also be asked to withdraw plans to replace Pitlochry Primary at a cost of nearly £14 million. Around £3 million will instead be spent improving the existing building.
A further £14.7 million is proposed for the new Blairgowrie Recreation Centre, around £3 million less than what was originally proposed.
Mr Lyle said the new facility will still have everything the community asked for, while reducing the total budget will also help decrease on-going revenue costs.
Perth and North Perthshire SNP MP Pete Wishart questioned the spending plan. “I am deeply concerned about the implications that these proposals could have for my constituents and for the future delivery of these capital projects,” he said.
“The capital budget is a long term investment plan and any savings made now in the short term could have huge implications for the future. I will be discussing the best way forward with council colleagues in advance of next week’s council meeting.”
