Forres Academy - New School Build

Works on the new school build are planned to be completed by December 2027.

The next Education, Children’s and Leisure Services committee (ECLS) takes place on 14 May 2024.

The duty of the ECLS committee is to make a recommendation on a preferred site, which will then be referred to Full Council for a decision on Wednesday 22 May.

Scottish Government Learning Estate Investment Programme Phase 3 (LEIP3) funding delivers a maximum 50% revenue-based funding (operational funding) opportunity over 25 years and requires the council to comply with the performance targets set by Scottish Futures Trust. The funding is on a sliding scale dependant on what targets are met. The upfront project capital expenditure will fall to the Council to provide.

Originally 8 sites were considered for a new build. 3 of these were not shortlisted for review as considered too small and/or within flood or flood alleviation impacted areas. Of the remaining 5 ‘viable’ sites council officers subsequently discounted 2 further sites: Grant Park site to the south of Andersons Primary on South Street due to the land being held in trust this was dismissed, the site to the east of Mannachie Road which was discounted due to this already being targeted for development as part of the Moray Growth Deal Housing Mix project.

Following several more assessments a further site at Grantown Road was discounted, due to the close nature of a gas pipeline and it being outside the Forres Town boundary with the surrounding areas not included in the Local Development Plan for development.

This leaves Lochyhills and Applegrove/ Roysvale as the 2 remaining options.

The current site falls within a significant flood area adjacent to the Mosset Burn – planning requirements now take account of future climate change and increased flooding risks and this makes the current site not viable for a full rebuild on the site. In addition, to redevelop on the current site would require most if not all the school to decant to temporary modular accommodation for up to 3 years which in addition to adding significant project costs would have an impact on education delivery.

Existing annual school roll forecasting for the Forres ASG and wider Moray area takes account of future capacity requirements over the next 8 years – birth rate and residential development, which are the key contributors, have been considered in terms of the design requirement for the future school.

A further look ahead to 2035 – which takes account of any significant residential development to the east of the town (Lochyhills) – has also been undertaken using historical building output rates.

The place-based review shared in November 2023 was an initial assessment of the then 3 site options against the new school project strategic objectives. It was not intended to determine a preferred site option at that time but demonstrate some early site factor considerations that had been identified could support future site selection process.

The 22 May 24 report to Council states that a Lochyhill siting “could impact local businesses due to edge of town location” but does not identify this as the key factor for a central location preference which has many education and community benefits.

Extending the school day, even by as little as 20 mins, would have significant operating cost impacts.

The report highlights a number of advantages of the Roysvale site which are summarised as:

• Central location better meets the place-based and strategic context requirements for a new community school, aligning with the NPF4 and Scotland’s Learning Estate Strategy – Connecting People, Places and Learning guidance and principles;
• More cost effective option at a time when the current and future challenges on the Council capital budget are significant;
• Offers educational benefits of a 5-18 campus - with adjacency of existing primary school with benefits of shared management, curriculum and pastoral transition (mainstream and ASN), shared PEF investment and access to extended learning for primary; and
• Benefit of the improvement of the Roysvale land and drainage improvement to improve community use of the green space/playing fields for the future.

There is no evidence that the construction of a new school on the Lochyhill site would encourage houses to be built without significant investment in other areas of infrastructure e.g. roads and services.

There are none at present as we are at the very early stages of design, these will be developed at the next stage.

SportScotland guidance recommends that secondary schools have access to a synthetic turf area suitable for use as a teaching space. The council would need to determine if a 3G pitch is provided at the school or if access to a 3G pitch can be provided elsewhere within Forres. If there is no other 3G pitch access in Forres, a 3G pitch would be built at the new school location as this would benefit from the ongoing revenue funding provided by Scottish Government.

There are a number of 5-18 campus schools already operational in Scotland and further schools are planned. In the case of the Applegrove/Roysvale site it provides an opportunity to create a 5-18 community campus school by incorporating the existing Applegrove into the design consideration.

If Lochyhill is developed there is capital funds to build a secondary school only, with the associated LEIP 3 funding based on a like for like replacement of the current Forres Academy.

The benefit of 5-18 campuses is well evidenced in Scotland and elsewhere. Specific areas of benefit include:

Learning
 

• Having staff who know the young people well throughout their time at school and with the ability to manage progression/transitions as they move through their learning journey
• Enabling younger pupils to access specialist subject facilities and specialist teaching that would not otherwise be available to them in a traditional Primary school; and
• Providing opportunities for cross age collaborative working and mentoring amongst pupils.

Staffing
 

• Allowing staff to work across the whole age range, collaborate and share specialist skills. This creates opportunities for innovative approaches to teaching and learning;
• Greater opportunities for staff in terms of professional development and career progression which can support recruitment and retention; and
• Opportunities to bring together staff with specialist skills and knowledge, for example in ASN, to share expertise and support young people throughout their education.

Families

• Allowing parents to form a long-term relationship with one school through their child’s education;
• Ensuring families are known by the school and are getting the help and support they need, whatever age their children; and
• Supporting parents through opportunities for older siblings to take younger children to school or by having a single drop off point for parents at the start of the school day.

Efficiency

It is still important to create age-appropriate spaces and a sense of progression through the school and in the external areas, but there are opportunities to provide real efficiencies:

• in the design and use of space
  
• effective management structure which spans 5-18
  
• use of admin support and other non-teaching posts across the campus

Learning Together: Opening up Learning (2009)

Learning Together: Opening up Learning (2010)

As a LEIP 3 project the new Forres Academy design is required to meet strict energy efficiency and low carbon footprint metrics – and Scottish Government future funding would not be available if it did not prove to be during its initial 25 year operation life. The new school design will consider the most effective and efficient non-fossil fuel heating and power options to deliver a sustainable net zero carbon building.

The project Quantity Surveyors have compared the substructure costs between both the Roysvale and Lochyhill site options and based on the known site conditions, Lochyhill site is more expensive as it would require a piled foundation solution whereas Roysvale does not.

Both identified sites are of a similar size. The Roysvale/Ashgrove site option facilitates the use of the current Academy site for school and community use and is a slightly larger site. The intent for the final design of the school is that it is sympathetic to neighbouring properties and any design impacts will be the subject of the future planning approval process.

Construction at either site would be bound by planning conditions and health & safety legislation. Due to the size of the project, it would have to be formally ‘notified’ to the Health and Safety Executive.

During planning there is a requirement to provide a construction traffic management plan which covers key issues on site:

• Keeping pedestrians and vehicles apart
• Minimising vehicle movements
• People on site
• Turning vehicles
• Visibility
• Signs and instructions

Planning conditions would state what hours of work would be permitted which would take into account noise. A construction impact assessment would also be required.

There was little to no impact on either the recent Lossiemouth High School or Elgin High School new builds – both within the grounds of an existing school. This was achieved through good communication between the main contractor and school on all aspects of construction. Any noisy works that would impact school were undertaken outside school hours and, where required, exams were relocated but this was known well in advance. Indeed, the majority of newbuild schools across Scotland typically are constructed on the existing sports facilities (grass pitches) with a demolition of the existing premises following on.

Our civil engineers have undertaken site investigations and any impact on site suitability due to ‘historical’ issues will have been identified. If any further issues materialise during the next stages of design and early construction these will be addressed by the appointed civil engineers on the design team. This applies to either site selected. All due diligence on risks to surrounding properties would be undertaken. The best practise approach, employed with previous new school projects, is that condition surveys of the surrounding houses may be undertaken prior to construction starting so that if any issues were reported during construction these could be compared with the condition surveys to ascertain if the issue is a result of the construction works.

A full health and safety plan will be implemented including the management of noise as stipulated by the Health and Safety Executive. It will be a legal requirement to ‘notifiable’ the project to the HSE and will be managed within Construction Design and Management (CDM) Regulations – Part 3 of which mandates health and safety duties and roles. As part of construction planning there would be a stipulation of working hours, acceptable noise levels during construction etc.

Many new build schools have been constructed adjacent to an existing school (Elgin HS and Lossiemouth HS are recent examples) and as with those projects the H&S management of the sites will take account of all risks across the period of the construction phase.

As we are at early design stage, we are not able to determine whether piles would be required or not. If they are there is more than one option of inserting these – they do not have to be percussion driven and an augur method could be used to screw these into the ground, with significantly reduced noise and vibration, if this is identified as the correct solution for the location. All the aspects highlighted in the question would be addressed during detailed design stage and through the planning application and mitigations implemented during construction

An archaeological survey is typically required when planning a new construction project and this project is no exception. Both the sites would be surveyed early in the planning process and the risk of discovering evidence of anything of archaeological significance that would delay the project is considered to be the same.

The planning application process will take account of any local heritage issues related to the site selected. Any planning approval conditions related to these with be addressed during design which will not compromise the delivery of a state of the art sustainable new school.

The detailed design process will determine what the utility requirements are at the selected site, which will include discussions with the respective utility companies.

Existing flooding occurs within the site boundary in the 1 in 200-year event. The source of this flooding is from the Burn of Mosset and Sanquhar Loch to the south of the site, with the predominant area affected being the existing school and smaller areas of flooding within Roysvale park.

The extent of this flooding has been determined from SEPA flood maps, and a flood risk assessment completed by Moray Council in 2021.

To ensure that there is no additional flooding outwith the boundary of the site, if this site was selected, it is proposed that any flood water displaced by the new development will be accommodated by lowering levels elsewhere within the site boundary (known as compensatory storage). Given the low levels of flooding on the site, it is expected that only minor adjustments to the existing levels to the south of the site will be required to accommodate this. This in turn will ensure that there is no increase in flood risk to surrounding properties as a result of this development, up to the 1 in 200-year event (with an allowance for the effects of climate change).

As part of the next design stage, if this site was selected, further detailed flood studies will be carried out to accurately determine the flood extents and the detailed design of any compensatory storage required.

Drainage - the surrounding network is a fully combined system. A Pre Development Enquiry has been submitted by civil engineers (as part of their standard site investigation) to Scottish Water to establish if sufficient capacity exists to allow for both surface and foul water to be discharged to this network.

Groundwater - The preliminary boreholes show that the water table varies from 0.69-1.96 metres below ground level (mbgl). Instantaneous recharge was noted during site investigation which indicates that standing water table is present. Based on this, it is likely that the contractor will encounter ground water during foundation and drainage excavations, and an allowance for dewatering would be considered.

Surface Water Discharge – the main impact of any building development is to increase the proportion of impermeable surfaces (e.g., roofs and paved areas) within the site and without careful planning this could increase peak rate rainwater runoff. Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS) aim to mitigate this effect by emulating natural drainage systems and the provision of storage. Options such as porous paving, filter strips and linear swales which can be accommodated within the landscaping will be preferred. It is also assumed that to attenuate the additional storm water runoff from the development, a below ground storage tank will also be required. The connection for the surface water would need to be approved by Scottish Water on the site. The primary method of attenuation would be provided by below ground attenuation tanks as it is anticipated that options such as SUDS basins and ponds will not be viable for this site due to their large land take.

The overall impact of the proposed site civil engineering approach is that current flooding issues on the Roysvale park area would be significantly mitigated.

Flooding - Pluvial (rainwater) flooding is observed on SEPA flood maps, however, this is not of concern as drainage design will take this into consideration.

Groundwater - The boreholes show that the water table varies from 3.2 – 4.6 metres below ground level (mbgl). Based on this it is anticipated that ground water may be encountered in deeper excavations.

Surface Water Discharge – A connection for the surface water discharge is yet to be approved by Scottish Water, and the area of hard standing is yet to be set, therefore, the outfall rate cannot fully determined at this stage. However, based on the assumption the school will have a similar layout to the proposals at Applegrove/Roysvale Park it is estimated approximately 1400m3 of storage will be required to manage the “1 in 200-year” storm event with climate change. The primary method of attenuation will be provided by below ground attenuation tanks as it is anticipated that options such as SUDS basins and ponds will not be viable for this site due to their large land take. Treatment will be provided by options such as porous paving, filter strips and linear swales which can be accommodated within the landscaping.

A Predevelopment Enquiry was sent to Scottish Water to confirm the capacity of the existing sewer network. Scottish Water have confirmed capacity subject to final design, which will be confirmed at the next project stage.

SEPA will be a statutory consultee throughout the planning application process. We would expect them to review the detailed information submitted as part of that process. · An initial consultation with Moray Council's Flood Team regarding flood risk on the Applegrove/Roysvale site has agreed the principals of the design and parameters of the detailed flood study which will be further developed at the next stage of the project.

Detailed technical reports by our civil and structural engineers with be developed during the next stage of the design process. In addition, CCTV surveys will be carried out at some point over the next few months to confirm the drainage records – this will form part of the detailed flood risk assessment. This will also include computer based hydrological modelling. All this technical information will be made available as part of the future statutory planning process

Scottish Water have undertaken survey work to properties within the area to the north of the proposed new school site that are at a very high risk of flooding from the sewers. They are looking at deploying mitigation or Property Level Protection (PLP) to properties in and around Tolbooth St/ Bank St/ Orchard Street. They are also helping customers in Burngreen Lane. Scottish Water are tasked with reducing the risk of repeat internal sewer flooding, and are looking at mitigation with flood doors, flood barriers and air vent protection. Some of the properties are in Scottish Water highest risk category so a permanent scheme will also be progressing. This flooding risk is not the same to the surface water/water table issues that are noted on the Roysvale site.

The current school roll capacity is 1121 with the current planned new capacity of 1240, an increase of 119 pupils, although this will be reviewed against the project school roll forecast out to 2035 during the design phase.

To understand the traffic and parking patterns in the local area, traffic and parking surveys will be required to inform any future planning application.

Council policy, in terms of free transport, will apply regardless of the chosen option for the future Forres Academy.

The statutory walking distance requirement is three miles for all pupils aged over 8. The two mile rule is however currently the standard for all Moray pupils with the exception of the two Elgin secondary schools where the statutory three miles apply. This was implemented through Committee report several years ago to account for the expanding boundaries of Elgin.

If a pupil has more than two miles to walk to reach Forres Academy, they will be granted transport under the current policy. A pupil can be expected to walk up to two miles to access transport. With the Lochyhill site this would see some residential properties to the south of the town (along the Grantown Road) potentially entitled to council provided transport to the new secondary school.

Regardless of what the preferred option is we will always strive to provide outdoor/green space for all our children and young people. Options will be explored to ensure minimum impact on Applegrove pupils.

At this stage we are unable to say whether these areas would be at risk. If Roysvale site was chosen, the determination of risk would be subject to the chosen future design of the school. Any future planning application would need to be cognisant of tree preservation or replacement requirements

All Common Good property falls into one of two categories – alienable or inalienable. Alienable property can be sold, leased or otherwise disposed of in a permanent or semi-permanent way that reduces public use. Inalienable property cannot without a court order.

Inalienable property includes town halls, market squares, parks or greens, and churches – although the status of each asset needs to be individually determined, it cannot be assumed. All other Common Good property would be alienable.

Inalienable Common Good - in order to appropriate the land the Council would require to obtain the consent of the Sheriff Court in terms of Section 75(2) Local Government (Scotland) Act. In addition, Section 104 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, which came into force on 27 June 2018, requires that before taking any decision to appropriate a Common Good asset the Council must publish details about the proposed disposal.

Consultation on any changes to Common Good land as a consequence of the New Forres Academy project will be undertaken in accordance with Part 8 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. Details of this can be found at the Scottish Government website.

Consultation in relation to the use of the Common Good land at Roysvale Park commenced on 18th September 2024 and will run until 12th November with a public drop in session to be held at Forres Academy on 21 October between 4pm-7pm. Full consultation information and how to respond can be found here

The time risks associated with both site options are detailed in the 22 May 24 report to Council.

The current project takes account of a 6 month timescale to undertake the Roysvale Common Good consultation and acknowledges there is a risk that if there are challenges to the planned use of common good land the project may be delayed a further 12 months.

As the Council does not own the Lochyhill site it would require to negotiate the acquisition of the land from the current owner. There is a risk that the owner or owners would be unwilling to sell, or that the price sought would not meet affordability criteria.

With similar situations in other projects the Council has promoted a compulsory purchase order (CPO) in tandem with landowner negotiations.  As part of the CPO process the Council would need to justify its requirement for that particular site (with reference to alternatives) and 18 months minimum would need to be allowed for this process which would impact the operational date out to January 2029.

The only current planned requirement for the current school site is that the swimming and hydro pools will be retained. Dependent on the agreed site location for the future school other areas of the existing school building may be repurposed for use by both the school and community or by just the community. One early consideration is for the area to be redeveloped and repurposed as a ‘sports hub’ and ‘health and wellbeing’ area focused on access to outdoor green space.

There are no plans at present as we are still at early design stage although there are options to utilise these within any development of an outdoor sports and health and wellbeing hub on the site of the ‘old’ school.