A new community campus development in Dundee to replace two outdated schools has been welcomed as "the most important investment in the city's future".

Work on the new East End Community Campus is set to start next month (April) with a target construction completion date of July 2025.

The community facility, which will replace the current Braeview Academy and Craigie High School, will house a music and drama centre suitable for city-wide school and community use. There will also be a café and library that will be accessible during the day for combined community and school use.

Sport facilities which include floodlit all weather pitches, a fitness suite and a dance studio in addition to the standard gym and games halls will also be available for use during the day to help create a fully integrated community feel.

Council leader John Alexander said: "It will be more than a school, it will be a focus for the whole community and will be accessible and inclusive. This campus will help improve the future prospects of young people while assisting the community to thrive.

"That is simply not achievable with the current schools due to their age and condition and the consequences of the devastating fire at Braeview, where costly temporary accommodation is still in use. 

"The campus is the most important investment in the city's future. Its delivery will allow us to improve educational and community facilities which will tackle significant challenges of poverty." 

The report outlines the impact of significant and ongoing construction inflation and supply chain restrictions on the project's budget. 

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The policy and resources committee will hear that, since the council's revised capital plan was published in November, the price of the project has increased from £86.814million to a projection of £100.8million.

A report explains that the response to COVID-19, Brexit and effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine have led to a significant increase in construction inflation continuing, driving shortages in the supply of materials and labour combined with the rising cost of energy. 

Councillors will be told that in response to rising costs, senior officers have reviewed the tender submission in detail with the contractor and this review concluded that the tender meets the best value possible based on the current market conditions. 

Benchmark construction costs for the development have been examined and reviewed by Scottish Futures Trust as part of the negotiations on the grant award. Scottish Government contributions towards the new community campus are likely to increase significantly from the £31 million originally envisaged to over £40m, and a verbal update on the final position will be provided at committee. 

Facilities at the campus would support partnership working with Dundee & Angus College to provide Senior Phase Education curricular experiences for young people with complex additional support needs. 

Children and families convener Councillor Stewart Hunter said: "This is a golden opportunity to transform educational and community facilities and replace two outdated buildings with a campus fit for the years ahead. 

"We have come such a long way in the design of the campus, with pupils playing an important role on the project board. The campus will provide an inspiring educational environment carefully designed to support learning developments in the longer term."

The committee will be told that, as part of this 365 Schools Community Hub approach, officers are now working closely with Neighbourhood Services, Leisure & Culture Dundee and community groups to carry out a review of existing community and school facilities, to redesign and develop a joint model to deliver city priorities and to consider possible rationalisation of clusters of buildings in communities.

This level of investment and engagement to plan for the community will enable the campus to support education and leisure, combining community sports and activities, advice services, digital inclusion, adult learning, and community development as well as health-related services to integrate care for children and families.

It will also offer the opportunity to evaluate how existing services are provided in the area and how they will operate from the new community campus. These include services delivered from the Crescent Library, The Hub Library, Douglas Community Centre & Library and Douglas Sports Centre. The report stresses that no decisions have been take on these issues, and that a further report will be brought back to councillors.

The tender to appoint Robertson Construction Tayside to build the new campus will be considered by the policy & resources committee on Monday March 27.