Yesterday the media covered the story of the need to re-classify the building of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route due to interpretations of the funding arrangements in relation to European legislation.  The BBC website published this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-33731797

This is likely to have implications for the Elgin High School project.  However, it was good to hear about this directly from Hubco staff and we are hoping that contact with them next week will give clarification.  Everyone can be reassured that all involved are making every effort to keep the momentum going and find resolutions so that we can cut the first turf sooner rather than later.

This is the view of the school playing fields this afternoon (Tuesday).  Although final agreement on the project has still to be reached so that the formal contracts can be signed, it was good to see the SSE vans at the school.  In addition to moving their cables, Vodafone and BT are also there getting the site ready for the construction work to begin.

 Meanwhile at the far end of the fields and beside Greenwards Primary School, work on the construction of the new approach road is making very good progress.  All very encouraging, but it will be good when we are able to cut the turf at the start of the work on the building itself.

I am just back from 2 amazing weeks in Zambia visiting the Victoria Falls, a national park and our partner school in Mukonchi with a group of pupils and staff.  We were able to join in their lessons and be part of their school for a few days.  While we may be frustrated with the delay in starting the new build for EHS, the time in Africa was a stark reminder of just how much we have compared to many in the world.  It also reinforced the truth that the most important aspect of a school is not the building but the relationships between pupils, their families, staff and the local community.  We met some fantastic people and were made very welcome.  It was good to be able to learn together with our Zambian counterparts, despite the physical conditions that surround them every day in their school building.

Meanwhile it was exciting to return to Elgin and find that enabling work is soon to start.  This involves moving the high voltage and Vodafone cables.  Agreement has still to be reached over the ESA10 issues.  However, discussions are ongoing and the work that will be completed in the next few weeks is an indicator of the increasing confidence that we will soon be able to announce a date for the turf cutting ceremony.

At the end of Edgar Road work on the new access road has begun.  This is good news.  Although there is still nothing new to report on the main building contract, it is good to end the school session with positive news of progress.  The holidays start tomorrow and, along with a group of senior pupils, I will be disappearing for two weeks to Zambia to visit our partners school.  Hopefully when I get back and restart the blog there can be some further good news.  Enjoy the summer holidays!

Today was the day we visited the offices of Scottish Futures Trust in Edinburgh.  There were four of us from Moray and we met with representatives from SFT and the Scottish Government.  The Scottish Futures trust is co-ordinating the public sector building programmes.  It was our opportunity to outline the thinking behind the plans for the new Elgin High School building.  We were able to outline both our aspirations as well as some of the technical issues.  We were given a good hearing and it was very encouraging to see that our thinking is very much in line with the Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme.  We are on target to achieve the aims of the programme for the EHS community.  Our audience was very supportive of the proposals.  Of course the subject of “ESA 10” was raised.  While there was much sympathy, it is also clear that the issues surrounding this are going to take weeks and not days to be resolved.  However, it was reassuring to learn that considerable effort is being put into finding a resolution.  As soon as this is done, we will be able to move forward.  Keep watching this blog for more information!

The Press and Journal’s headline on Wednesday described the new build project as “being in limbo”.  The positive news is that on Tuesday The Moray Council has agreed their side of the necessary funding.  A solution is in sight to overcome the difficulties about planning permission relating to the disposal of the peat.  Work on the construction of the extension of Edgar Road past Greenwards Primary has been given the green light and should start on Monday.  Those are the positives.

The negative news is that we will not be able to go to financial closure in June.  The problem over “ESA 10” – financial regulation requiring agreement between the Scottish and UK governments and the European Union – is not going to be resolved quickly.  This is not an EHS problem and it is also having an impact on a number of other public sector projects across Scotland.  At the earliest there might be progress is by the end of the summer holidays.  This obviously means a delay in the start of the project and consequently in the completion date.

To describe the reaction to the delay as “disappointing” is an understatement.  The Parent Council met on Wednesday and expressed the frustration of parents, pupils and the community at large.  This feeling is equally shared by staff who have already started the preparation work of clearing departments.  The Moray Council staff working on the planning, and Balfour Beatty, are equally frustrated after all the work that has gone into getting ready for a June start to work.  Next Wednesday a team from Moray will be in Edinburgh giving a presentation on the aspirations for the new build to the Scottish Futures Trust and Scottish Government representatives.  We will be listening out for any positive news of developments.

Friday’s Northern Scot carried the news that there are further potential delays to the starting date for the new build.  There is little to add to what was reported in the newspaper.  There is a meeting scheduled on Tuesday for Moray councillors at which they will be given an update.  There is still hope that a way can be found to get round the various difficulties and more positive news can be announced soon.  Meanwhile, some folk have arrived to do another survey on the grounds.  The planning and preparations are continuing so hopefully we will have good news soon!

Both the Press and Journal and the Northern Scot ran stories this week about the latest delays to the project.  However, more positive news is emerging.  At the end of the week there was a good meeting looking at the planning issues.  These have now been resolved – with the exception of the issues surrounding the peat.  However, even with this there is hope that progress can be made next week.  There is also encouraging news with the finance.  Discussions with Scottish Futures Trust seem to have come to agreement on the money they will be investing in the project.  The difficulties with ESA10 (European regulations) will also be discussed early next week.  A meeting of Moray Councillors is being organised so that they can approve the arrangements.  Then hopefully everything will be in place and we will be able to reach financial closure on 24 June.

Meanwhile, some of the Moray team are beginning to put together a presentation for Scottish Futures Trust.  On Wednesday 17th June we will be travelling to Edinburgh to give an update on the project.  We certainly hope by then that everything will be in place and we can announce a date for the cutting of the first turf.

Friday 22nd May was meant to be the day of “financial close” for the project.  The day by which the final costs would be agreed and contracts could be signed.  It did not happen.  There are still a few outstanding legal, planning and environmental details to be agreed.  However, the good news is that over the next few days there are a number of meetings planned when these issues can be resolved.  We also heard this week that a date in the middle of June has been agreed when a group from the Moray Council team will visit Edinburgh to give a presentation to Scottish Futures Trust about the plans and aspirations.  There are a number of people working exceptionally hard to pull the last details together.  We are not there yet, but we are getting there!

Earlier in the session, we had anticipated that EHS would be a building site during May.  Consequently the SQA exams were moved to Moray College.  Thanks to the support of the college staff, the hard work of the invigilators and EHS staff – along with the good will and sense of responsibility from the pupils – the exams arrangements are going very smoothly.  Sadly, there is still no sign of the school playing fields becoming a construction site.  Behind the scenes, the Moray Council team are working hard.  They have been in consultation with Scottish Futures Trust, but we are still waiting for final agreement from them (and the Scottish Government in relation to a particular item of European regulation) before we can go to the Council for final approval of costs.  There are also ongoing discussions about the removal of peat from the site – SEPA are involved here.  The technical and legal documents are being scrutinised by legal teams before anything can be signed.

There is a lot of hard work going on by the various teams.  Meanwhile, we look forward to the arrival of another skip so that we can continue tidying the current building.