Councillors in Argyll and Bute have unanimously agreed to move forward a business case for a new school campus on Mull.
A report had invited councillors to decide whether a new building is affordable, and agree that up to £5million of funding be used to start a business case.
If it was considered unaffordable, an allocation of funding to refurbish the current Tobermory High School would need to be considered at a future meeting.
Residents attended the last full council meeting in February, arguing for a new campus on Mull. A decision was deferred until the next council, the first since the Strategic Partnership formed a new administration.
The cost of building the campus is estimated at £43 million, the report said. The council secured LEIP (Learning Estate Investment Programme) funding from the Scottish Government, which would provide up to 50 per cent of eligible costs.
However the council would have to provide the full funding up front. The costs of borrowing such a significant level of funding, as well as covering costs not eligible for LEIP support, could increase to as much as £113 million over the lifetime of the loans.
But at the full council meeting on Thursday, April 25, all councillors agreed to take the next step.
Oban South and the Isles Independent Councillor Andrew Kain said: “My question really is whether we can afford NOT to deliver this. I believe we cannot afford not to do it.
“Some of us have worked to establish costs, because we need to get out of the economic malaise we are in.
“It is tied up with the economic future, and the future development of Argyll and Bute as a whole, not just for Mull.”
His ward colleague, and council leader, SNP councillor Jim Lynch, said: “There is no doubt that this is a huge opportunity to help education on Mull. It is one of the biggest projects, if not the biggest, and we need to be on top of this all the way through.
“Reducing costs is really important and I think members should be given regular updates, because it needs to be done.
“Community engagement is a huge part of it. The public have to know the challenges we are up against if we go ahead with this, so we need a lot more dialogue.
“We also need to be approaching the Scottish Government with the unique position Mull is in, as that would be useful.”
Dunoon SNP councillor Audrey Forrest, the council’s new policy lead for education, added: “I believe everybody in this chamber wants to build a school. We have a building which is only just fit for purpose, and we want parity of education throughout Argyll and Bute.
“We want a building where modern technology is used, because that is what all our other children have in Argyll and Bute.
“If we do not do it, we could end up throwing money at this for years to come. We are talking wind and water tight – not about any enhanced suitability for learning.
“So we could be spending more money to tread water. We may also attract teachers to a modern school.
“We need to be right on top of this and aware of the financial implications and hard choices, but I do not think we can afford not to do it.”
The outline business case will be developed with community in-put, including a site selection, process with community and statutory engagement the first step.
The full business case, including more detailed proposals for the campus and costs, will be considered again by councillors in late 2026, and at other significant milestones, before the campus could move to a construction phase which is provisionally forecast for 2027 with opening late 2028.
Councillor Forrest concluded: “We would like to deliver a campus for Mull. There’s no question about that. It has the potential to deliver important benefits for our young people, the island and wider area.
"At the same time however we have to be realistic about what is possible.
"Our decision today is about remaining ambitious for Argyll and Bute, and doing what we can as a council to deliver what communities want.
"While more difficult decisions lie ahead, this is an exciting next step towards a campus for Mull.”
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