A councillor for Stornoway North has spoken out on the latest blow to plans for a new sports facility at Stornoway Primary, saying the school community has been “ground down” by the delays.
Councillor Gordon Murray, a member for Stornoway North, made his comments following the latest update to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar’s Education, Sport and Children’s Services Committee.
Earlier this month welovestornoway reported the SNP Group at the Comhairle had expressed “real disappointment” at the decision to end the current procurement exercise for the building and main works contract for the proposed sports development at the school.
The decision to end the procurement exercise followed an 18-month period during which the project was unable to obtain a building warrant.
The group accused the supplier of causing this by “repeated failures” to provide “sufficient compliance information”.
Now, Cllr Murray has highlighted the deep disappointment felt by the community at the continued delay in delivering the project first approved by the Comhairle in November 2021.
“Nearly five years after this Comhairle took a clear decision to provide a proper sports facility at Stornoway Primary, the daily reality for children and families has not changed,” he said.
“The catalyst for this project was simple and stark: children were having to play in mud, and parents were washing muddy clothes every single day. That situation continues. The school community is ground down by the length of this delay.”
Cllr Murray noted that successive updates have reported design changes, cost pressures, specialist procurement challenges and revised timelines, yet the high-quality PE and sports teaching space the Comhairle committed to deliver was still not in place.
The pressure on the school’s existing assembly hall, used for both dining and physical education, also remained unresolved.
“I recognise the real complexities that have arisen, including construction cost inflation and the specialist nature of the building.
“But the outcome that matters is that children at Stornoway Primary still lack the facilities this Comhairle promised. Pupils who were in Primary 1 when the project was approved are now approaching the end of their primary years. We cannot allow another generation to pass through the school under the same conditions.”
In November 2021 the Comhairle agreed to the development of a sports facility at Stornoway Primary following a long and vocal campaign by parent groups. Then, the Comhairle agreed to the project with a maximum construction cost of £1.8million.
Following further development of the project design, it was agreed by the Comhairle in June 2022 to increase the project budget to £1.95m and an allocation of £2m was subsequently agreed and allocated in the 2023-2028 Capital Programme.
Following receipt of initial tender prices that were well above budget, the Comhairle agreed in February 2024 to reduce the overall size of the building to bring the development closer to budget.
It was agreed the building would be built to offer a total internal area of 565m2, with a usable hall area of 470m2, a little larger than three badminton courts in size. The estimated cost of the revised building was £2.25m.
The additional £250,000 of funding required in addition to that already allocated in the capital programme was to be funded from the Universal Free School Meal expansion programme in recognition of the increased capacity for dining created in the school from PE lessons moving from the internal hall to the new games hall.
