Shared Campus Update

I chaired a meeting of the Council's Shared Campus Working Group tonight in St Stephen's High School.

We were given useful updates by officers on the arrangements for the temporary shared campus at Stephen's; the development of the new shared campus on the Port Glasgow High site; the next stage of the consultation process with stakeholders; and proposals for additional parking and drop off points at the temporary campus.

The group were pleased to hear that 16 major contractors have expressed an interest in building the campus. Following an appraisal of the proposals a number will be invited to formally bid for the contract early in the New Year.

During the meeting I was questioned on the Council's commitment to the new shared campus in light of the funding cuts announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review.

I stressed that while we still await the details of our funding allocations from the Scottish Government I was confident that the funding was in place for both the shared campus and the new St Columba's High School. These two projects are my administration's highest priorities and therefore we will prioritise our spending plans to ensure that they go ahead. Undoubtedly however the impending cuts in both revenue and capital funding will mean that we will have to cut back on some other projects.