DUMFRIES and Galloway Council has released a report detailing the final elements of their Dumfries learning town programme (DLT).
Phase one of the programme was completed in 2019, when the new North West Community Campus was fully opened, the refurbishment of St Joseph’s College was complete and work to build learning hub, The Bridge, was completed.
It is proposed in phase two that Dumfries Academy be refurbished and Loreburn Primary School incorporated into the high school. As well as this would be the build of a new Dumfries High School.
The document details how the current Dumfries High School is at the end of its life and has a ‘significant’ and ‘high-risk’ backlog of maintenance issues. It adds that there are structural issues with the concrete frame of the building, which are required to be regularly monitored and have a limited lifespan. The council said that replacement of the school is its first priority, due to the ‘significant’ structural risks associated.
The cost of phase two is estimated to come at £71 million. If funding is secured, the local authority said that construction of the new Dumfries High School would commence in 2023, as well as work to refurbish the other schools.
