More than £200m in capital plan for new schools across Fife

The need for new schools across the kingdom is a major pressure on Fife Council’s capital budget over the coming years.

The coalition administration has earmarked more than £90 million for new primary schools in the next decade, while £118m has been set aside for desperately-needed new secondary schools in west Fife.

A further £27.5m is needed to replace the ageing Glenrothes and Glenwood High Schools.

Add to that the need for extensions to Auchmuty and Viewforth and the money needed to build a replacement Madras – which already has planning permission – then the budget is a challenging one, according to joint council leaders David Alexander of the SNP and Labour’s David Ross.

It was made clear, however, that the council will only be able to deliver the new schools if it receives significant levels of capital funding from the Scottish Government.

Mr Ross said: “The big challenge is money for new schools.

“We still need money from the Scottish Government to finalise the Dunfermline situation, in response to the expansion of house building.

“We have to provide these schools for children who need education.”

Mr Alexander said the council expected an unprecedented contribution from house builders towards the cost of the schools but that the authority would incur significant upfront expenditure before the money can be recovered.

The local authority is also pressing ahead with its plan to replace its remaining three care homes and to provide enhanced community facilities in Abbeyview in Dunfermline and Templehall in Kirkcaldy.

The existing £2m earmarked for the Levenmouth rail campaign has also been maintained, but the initiative will have to be fully funded by Holyrood.

A further £8m for Fife’s roads infrastructure has been set aside each year for the next two years.

The leaders said this was almost £2m more than they had originally planned to spend on roads but was less than the £10m spent during each of the last two years.