Year anniversary for school funding bid
Plans for a new primary school for Craigshill, Livingston are in limbo due to a year-long delay in the Scottish Government's Learning Investment Programme (LEIP).
Last year, West Lothian Council approved plans to set aside 50% of the funding required to build the new school in Livingston. Last October, the council submitted a bid to the Scottish Government's Phase 3 Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) to provide the remaining 50% of the remaining funding required.
It was expected that the Scottish Government would announce successful applications by early December 2022 but no decision has been made.
West Lothian Council is now urging the Scottish Government to make an announcement on funding without further delay.
Executive councillor for Education Andrew McGuire said: "We are now approaching one year on from our submission for funding and we still have no answer from the Scottish Government. We were originally advised that a decision would be made in December but that clearly didn't happen.
"Unfortunately, the delay means that we can only take our plans for a new school so far, and we are unable to make any firm plans given the significant amounts of funding that are required to deliver this project for the community. We really need an answer from the Scottish Government to enable us to move forward and deliver a fantastic new school for young people in Livingston."
The LEIP is a joint £2 billion investment programme between Scottish and Local Government designed to improve the condition of the school estate. Over the life of this parliament and the next, investment will enable the delivery of new or refurbished learning facilities across Scotland.
The council hope that new facility in Craigshill would replace both the existing Letham and Riverside Primary schools with a capacity to accommodate over 460 pupils and a 64 place nursery, including eligible two year olds which is based on future school roll projections.
West Lothian Council has already earmarked £53milion to deal with the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) situation in local schools. This involves progressing the £35 million project for a replacement building for the area affected by RAAC at St Kentigern's Academy. The council has already allocated £20.2 million of its own resources to the project, and is seeking additional support from the Scottish Government to bridge the remaining gap.
