Step forward for new Nairn Academy as planning application is lodged
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Plans to develop a “well overdue” new secondary school in Nairn have taken a significant step forward with the planning application for the work now formally lodged by the developer.
Nairn Councillor Paul Oldham shared the update at the weekend after chairing a "very positive" meeting of the stakeholder group last week, welcoming the progress made by Balfour Beatty, which is the leading construction work on the new Nairn Academy.
This comes after revised plans for the £54 million academy were shared in September.
He said: “Everyone knows that Nairnshire is well overdue a new secondary school and so I’m very pleased that the start of works on ground for the new Nairn Academy is now fast approaching.
“We have a good design which will serve the young people of Nairn well in future years.
“I think Nairnshire has been very fortunate because, as belts tighten and construction costs continue to rise, many other communities around Highland are going to have to wait a lot longer than they hoped for their new schools.”
The planning application – which had not yet been made publicly available as the Courier went to press – reflects the revised plan made earlier this year when a redesign was necessary due to rising costs.
The original budget was then increased from almost £38 million to just over £54 million.
After a delay of six months from the original plans –which would have seen the new school completed by 2025 – construction is expected to start during summer next year, with the goal to have the site operational for the school year starting in August 2026.
This progress on the Nairn build comes amidst a series of U-turns by Highland Council which saw it ditch plans for 10 other schools projects across the region.
Planned rebuilds and refurbishments at Charleston and Culloden Academies in Inverness as well as St Clement’s school for children with additional support needs in Dingwallin Dingwall and Park Primary in Invergordon were halted due to a lack of funding.
A motion going to the last full meeting of Highland Council of 2023 on Thursday will be asked to declare a “school estate emergency".
A replacement school building for the current Nairn Academy was included in Phase 2 of the Scottish Government’s Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) announced in December 2020, and funding for the project is included in the reprofiled capital programme approved by Highland Council in January 2021.
The design was first revealed in September 2022, however a new public consultation was held this year to present the partial re-design to the community.
Changes involved the removal of a bridge connecting two of the main buildings, now due to be linked on all floors as a U-shaped construction.
The layout of a central courtyard has also been changed, along with the orientation of the building.
