New Dumfries school leak cause investigated

Contractors said a leak had prompted the decision to take down the ceiling in the area

An investigation is being carried out into the cause of a leak in a new school building in southern Scotland.

The £28m North West Community Campus in Dumfries is due to open in a matter of weeks.

Posts on social media had suggested that a ceiling had collapsed in the building.

However, construction firm Graham said in a statement it had taken down the structure in order to carry out "full and robust" repairs.

Work started on the £28m project in 2016 as a replacement for the current Lochside and St Ninian's primary schools, Langlands special school and Maxwelltown High School.

The project is part of a wider overhaul of education in the town

It is part of the wider Dumfries Learning Town project which is overhauling education provision.

The company said a leak had occurred in the staffroom area and water had caused "sagging and superficial damage" in ceiling tiles.

It said it had taken the decision to completely remove the ceiling in the area to rectify the situation.

"Graham takes both health and safety; and quality on all of our sites very seriously," it said.

"That is why we carry out robust testing and commissioning prior to handover.

"It is not uncommon for issues to be identified during testing so that we can rectify them.

"We can confirm that full quality assurance procedures have been adhered to on this project.

"An investigation has been instructed to ensure full understanding of the cause of the leak."

'Fully rectified'

It said that the building would still be completed on time and delivered to the local authority.

The council said it had been given an assurance that the issue would be "fully rectified" and all necessary safety checks carried out.

"At the moment, the facility is still under the responsibility of Graham," it said.

"The council will not take ownership of the building until all construction works have been completed to the satisfaction of the council."

It said it was still looking forward to opening the doors on the new school on 21 August.