Thurso High School block to be demolished as council reverses plan for £7.5m replacement
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Highland Council has overturned a bureaucratic blunder that could have committed £7.5 million to rebuilding a condemned block at Thurso High School.
A motion to change the decision taken at the Caithness committee at the end of May was brought to yesterday’s full council.
The vote to revert back to the committee decision was defeated 38 to 28 after a passionately argued debate – so the block will now be demolished and both it and "the rest of the Thurso High School campus" will be reviewed as part of the capital programme.
The issues at the heart of the matter are the condemned block, the Caithness committee not having the power to agree to capital investment and the need to take action.
Pupils have been housed in temporary classrooms since the block was abruptly closed in October last year and it was hoped a fast and permanent solution was on the table due to a paper that went to the local committee.
Highland Council has been asked to explain why the committee was presented with the opportunity to choose the best option, which came with significant capital budget implications, but has not yet responded.
Councillors were divided between those who thought the local decision should be respected, even if it did not result in an immediate rebuild, and those who argued that it completely flouted the due process of the council.
Cllr Ron Gunn, who represents Thurso and Northwest Caithness and chairs the area committee, argued the case for local democracy, saying that the decision was well-taken after a long debate and that the decision should stand, compelling a £7.5 million investment in a new block.
He said: “This was a comprehensive report with four options and I would also like to thank the officers for their report. It was a long debate on the matter, it was a democratic vote, which we thought was best for the ward.
“As councillors, surely part of our job is to be here to stand up for our ward and surely an area committee is also here to stand up for its area. Option four will get the rebuild, eventually, onto the capital budget, option one would not.”
Cllr Raymond Bremner, who sits in Wick and East Caithness and who is also the leader of the local authority, said it was more about following the right process instead of risking raising false hopes.
He said: “Cllr Gunn knows that the report should have been an update – updates don't normally carry options in the manner that came to the committee on that day, that commits the council to such large amounts of capital spend.
“It is incumbent on us not to raise expectations that may not be realistic and that's what I fear we may have done at the Caithness committee.”
Cllr Bremner later added: “Today’s discussion at full council was about achieving best value outcome and fairness across the Highland Council’s education estate.
“The council has limited capital funding and only the council can authorise what that money can be spent on. There is already a process in place that is considering long-term options for Thurso High School. Thurso High School and others across the education estate will be discussed at a capital plan review after the council recess.
“As a Caithness member and also as leader of the Highland Council, I need to make sure that we consider the interests of all members and their communities.
“What we have agreed today doesn’t take away from local members making their views known; that was clearly done today and at the Caithness committee. However, the proper procedure is to allow the process of the housing and property committee to fully scope the long-term options and the overall cost to the capital plan.”
The decision means that plans will now progress to demolish Block A of Thurso High School due to significant structural defects, and the site and adjoining blocks will be made good at a cost of £1.2m.
The future of the site and the rest of the Thurso High School campus will be part of the agreed review of the council’s capital programme.
