A war of words has broken about between two rival councillors following news that the opening of the new Ardrossan Campus has been pushed back.
The news that the opening of the facility had been pushed back at least a year, to late 2027, provoked sparks from Cabinet member for Green Environment and the Economy, Tony Gurney, and Labour leader Joe Cullinane.
The location of the new school is on the site next to the town’s North Shore and work would not now begin until next Spring.
Councillor Gurney said: “This SNP project to finally provide the much needed up to date facilities for Ardrossan’s young people follows the failure of the previous attempt to build the school.
“The previous proposals were blocked by the Labour group simply because they were made by the last SNP administration.
“During their time in office the Labour administration then made no progress in providing the much needed new school.
“This was only progressed by this new SNP administration.
“For the current project, a robust site selection process was undertaken with a number of locations being considered and after thorough evaluation, the Ardrossan Coastal Quarter site was identified as the best option.
“This allows excellent access both for pupils and the wider community who can access the new swimming pool, gym, and library. “
However Cllr Cullinane countered: “While we are all disappointed at the current delay, caused by one of the wettest summers in living memory, significant progress has been made on-site and we will continue to work with the contractors to ensure that the site is ready for construction as soon as possible.
“That’s quite the revision of history – I am sure there are lots of articles like one from 2012-13 when Cllr Gurney tried to merge Ardrossan and Auchenharvie to much backlash.
“There was also a community ‘consultation’ on the merger where more than 90 per cent said they opposed it. but Cllr Gurney said the vast majority of people were so content with the merger that they didn’t feel the need to respond at all.
“In the end parents had to petition the council and the project was cancelled after a recess at a Cabinet meeting in 2013.
“Ardrossan would have had a new school over a decade ago if it wasn’t for Cllr Gurney and I am sure any piece that you write will reflect this fact.”
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