The Strontian Community School Building Ltd was established in 2016 with the main purpose of carrying out any business for the benefit of the community in Strontian by developing and managing community-owned assets. The initial activity is to oversee the primary school construction project, based on a community owned school being built on the footprint of three affordable housing units. This will
deliver a legacy for the community. The community organisation will manage the development, construction, leasing and possible future conversion of the building. This innovative project has evolved from a number of community consultations over the past 4 years: the Strontian Community Consultation & Action Plan by Cadispa; the Highland Council Strontian Primary School Consultation Report 2014 (statutory consultation); Community Housing Needs Survey and Strontian Masterplanning exercise which has just been completed. Throughout this extended period of community consultation two elements of community provision essential to the community’s sustainability and growth have been highlighted as areas of major concern. A primary school fit for the 21st century, and affordable housing both for key workers, and to attract new and retain existing families, who struggle to find affordable secure housing options. The existing primary school was assessed as inadequate for both educational suitability and building condition by the Highland Council in 2014, and the statutory consultation resulted in initial proposals being put forward to the community which failed to reassure them that the replacement facility would provide their children with the educational environment they deserve. The situation has been complicated by the future potential for the primary school to be accommodated within the existing Ardnamurchan High School sometime after 2027 (this school, which also houses the nursery and community facilities was built under a PPP contract which ends in 2027, at which point the Council ‘inherits’ the building). However, prior to this, as a result of the PPP arrangement the Highland Council is unable to vary the contract, for example to alter the building, without attracting heavy penalties. Prior to the statutory consultation an area of land adjacent to AHS, and affording easy access to allow for the use of community facilities, was identified as the perfect position on which to build the required replacement primary school. Further, it is in an area that is being developed to provide housing and amenity land for the community. However, the Highland Council’s preferred option of using the site to house modular units for the new school did not meet the community’s aspirations for a high-quality, long-term solution. As a result the community has come forward with their own proposal to address the need to upgrade the primary school. This innovative proposal provides one solution to a number of immediate and long term community needs: design and build a primary school fit for the 21st century; incorporated community office space to provide facilities for local groups; and flexibility, as the building is based on the footprint of a terrace of houses which would allow for the efficient and economical conversion to community owned housing or other identified community use if and when the building is no longer required by the Highland Council as a primary school. The community owned housing could then be provided to suit the needs of the community at this point e.g. as sheltered housing provision for an ageing population, keyworker housing, community resource, or whatever need has arisen at that time. This proposal has been developed by the community and has the support of the Highland Council. It has also attracted an offer in principle of both development finance and long term loan from a major ethical bank and is recognised as having the potential to provide a template for future service provision within rural communities by replacing the PPP’s and PPF’s with Community Public Partnerships where accountability is clear.
