Cost consultants appointed for independent review of high school

A cost consultancy firm has been appointed by the SIC as its independent review into the respective merits of the Knab and Clickimin sites for a new Anderson High School gathers pace.

The company, CRGP, has offices in Edinburgh and Inverness and has been asked to carry out a two-week exercise, commencing on 27th July. Council chief executive David Clark described it as a “very good value-for-money” quotation.

Speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday, Mr Clark said he was “very optimistic” that the timescale for delivering the review, requested by councillors in June, would be met. He also believes the cost of the review, initially estimated at around £100,000, will be “well below” that figure.

Coordinator of the review Andrew Laidler, a former business associate of Mr Clark, has been in the isles this week talking to local architects and on 5th August, Architecture and Design Scotland will come to Shetland to contribute its views to the process.

At 6.30pm on Wednesday a public meeting, chaired by services committee chairman Gussie Angus, is being held in Lerwick Town Hall where residents, teachers and any other interested parties can air any concerns and offer their views on where the new high school should go. The findings of the meeting will be fed into the report which goes before councillors in September.