News / AHS assurances amid Edinburgh closures
SHETLAND Islands Council has moved to offer assurances that the new Anderson High School is one of the most heavily scrutinised projects of its type following the closure of several Edinburgh schools built under a controversial public-private partnership (PPP) model.
The education and families committee heard, at short notice, from AHS project manager Trevor Smith and Carl Symons of its estate management department on Monday morning.
It followed the closure of 17 schools in Edinburgh due to safety fears, which has left thousands of children staying at home.
On Friday the Edinburgh Schools Partnership (ESP) voiced concern over “serious defects” with some of the buildings that were built under the PPP model. These are thought to have arisen following a lack of oversight of private contractors who built the schools.
But, while the SIC’s arrangement with Hub North Scotland shares some similarities with the PPP model, councillors heard that the under-construction school had been described by Hubco as “the most scrutinised project that they have”.
Smith said details emerging from Edinburgh were “still unclear” but in part seemed to relate to cladding problems.
“The issues I have seen are to do with construction quality, possibly corners being cut in terms of the number of wall ties,” he said.
Smith wanted to assure members that the £55 million new AHS and halls of residence “isn’t a copied or regurgitated design from the central belt” but was “designed from first principles” in line with national design standards, taking Shetland’s climate and wind into account.
With the basic frame of the building at lower Staney Hill now in place, cladding work will follow in the early summer and “we’ll be keeping an eye out for what develops in Edinburgh”, he added.
Children’s services director Helen Budge said the Scottish Government had written to local authorities informing them of a “precautionary decision” to shut the Edinburgh schools.
It has also instructed councils to carry out some additional inspections, but Symons said the SIC was already carrying out the necessary inspections as part of its normal procedures.
He said school buildings were “heavily scrutinised” and the council doesn’t know of any structural issues of “any significance” at present.
Councillor Frank Robertson, who has lengthy experience of the construction industry, recalled that when the private finance initiative (PFI) model was in vogue in the early 2000s he urged the SIC to steer clear.
“It was a system that brought instant private money in, but the whole design process was left to the contractor completely,” he said. “Now, this council flirted with that at one stage.
“I had direct contact with the RIBA and the Institute of Engineers, and they were concerned at that time about the quality of supervision that was being exercised in the PFI process. I strongly advised the council not to enter into PFIs and I’m very glad we didn’t.
“At the end of a 30-year [lease] period, you got back a building which could be in a sad state.
“What’s happening with the AHS is we have a complete design team, and it’s now properly, thoroughly supervised on a daily basis.
“If I could assure Carl Symons, I was responsible for all the schools built from 1975 until 1997 and we had a team of clerical works and they were there every day if necessary – so I can absolutely guarantee the standard of the works.”
Education and families committee chairwoman Vaila Wishart said what councillors had heard was “quite reassuring”, particularly that the AHS is “one of the most scrutinised projects that Hubco has been involved in”.
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