The site was zoned for housing in the council's Local Development Plan and planning approval has been given for 800 new homes. The size and scale of the development meant that a new school was required. The council secured legally binding agreements with housebuilders to achieve the funding needed to build the new facility.
Morrison Construction was awarded the £8.63m contract following a competitive tender process. The firm has previously worked on the Haddington Primary/ St Mary's Primary joint campus and is in the finishing stages of the new Wallyford Primary School. It is currently developing the new East Lothian Community Hospital.
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East Lothian Council's Cabinet Member for Education Councillor Shamin Akhtar said: "Work is well underway at Letham Mains to provide 800 new homes, including affordable houses, for our community. I'm pleased that the contract has been awarded for Letham Primary School and this important part of the development can move forward. I look forward to following its progress."
Letham Primary School will have 14 classrooms suitable for pre-school and primary teaching, a dining hall, social space and a two court PE hall with retractable seating for performance and community use. The external areas will be designed for outdoor learning, PE and play. Work is due to start on site in February 2019 with estimated completion in Summer 2020.
Head of Education Fiona Robertson said: "We routinely secure developer contributions to fund the expansion of public facilities that will be impacted. This can include extensions to schools or the development of community and sports facilities. The scale of the development at Letham Mains requires the provision of a new school so we have worked to secure the necessary contributions from the developers to bring forward this key requirement without impacting on the council's capital budget.
"We are pleased to be able to announce that Morrison Construction will be building the new school and look forward to them starting on site in February."
