Taxpayers in Renfrewshire will need to find £60 million to cover the cost of a blunder that left a school too small, the Accounts Commission has said.
The watchdog has warned that the SNP-run local authority will need to make “difficult decisions on spending priorities in the near future” as a consequence of the Dargavel Primary cock-up.
In a scathing report, the Commission also said they were “concerned about the culture of the council and whether it has truly learned the lessons it needs to".
They also questioned the decision not to take disciplinary action against any senior officer involved in the mess.
A public hearing could now take place if the auditors don't get "assurance on a range of issues".
In 2022, The Herald revealed that the £18m school building should have been able to accommodate 1,100 pupils, but due to an “error” by officials, could only hold 430.
The authority announced in February last year that there could be as many as 1,500 children needing to use the school by 2033.
The council is now set to build a second primary school in the village and contribute £15m towards an extension at Park Mains High School in Erskine, though concerns remain that the secondary will simply not be big enough.
A damning initial report described Renfrewshire Council as “incompetent” and said the error was “so obvious it is difficult to see how it remained undetected for six years".
An Accounts Commission report responding to the review, published today, said the council had still “failed to engage appropriately or transparently with communities over the expansion of secondary school provision.”
