Extra £1.6m on council bill for Fife super campus as funding bids falter

On Tuesday, education scrutiny committee councillors were reassured that the overspend will not impact on the quality of the new learning centre.

“We don’t anticipate that there will be any impact on the provision of the quality or the resources available in the school at all,” council officers told the committee. “We’ll do as we do with all projects: We work to ensure we get the correct value out of the contract that’s in place with the developer.”

The project was discussed as part of the Capital Investment Plan 2023-2024 progress report. It reiterated that the £1.6 million overspend on the project was due to failed external funding bids.

Councillors were told that one of the failed funding bids was in relation to Sustrans - a charity making it easier for people to walk, wheel and cycle in Scotland. The second failed bid was in relation to Sportscotland, the national agency for sport.

“Work is ongoing to mitigate the pressure where possible through other efficiencies in the project, however any residual pressure will be required to be accommodated within the overall education capital plan,” the committee report stated.

An update on the council's capital plan in November listed Fife’s share of the bill at more than £123.6 million in total. In the current financial year alone, the council is expected to spend £54 million on the campus. However, the committee report also stated that “work is progressing well on the project.”

The Learning Campus is meant to replace both Woodmill and St Columba’s RC High Schools. So far, it is still on track to open in August of this year. It will eventually house the new Fife College as well, but that will not be funded by the council. It's set to cost £100m and should be ready for students in 2025.