Dumfries Learning Town: Schools funding bid drawn up for £69m

The cost of replacing Dumfries High School has been estimated at £46.5m

A multi-million pound funding bid has been drawn up for the second phase of an education overhaul in Dumfries.

It would see a new campus developed to replace Dumfries High School and a refurbishment of Dumfries Academy.

One of the town's primaries - Loreburn - would also be relocated under the proposals.

A report to councillors said the high school replacement would cost £46.5m with nearly £23m to move the primary and refurbish the other secondary.

The plans are part of the ongoing Dumfries Learning Town project.

Dumfries Academy will be refurbished and a primary school relocated to its Minerva Hall under the plans

The first phase - to overhaul St Joseph's College and build the new North West Community Campus and The Bridge learning hub - has been completed.

However, original plans for the second phase were shelved when it emerged they would need annual savings of about £10m for 25 years.

A scaled down version would now see Dumfries High School replaced, Dumfries Academy refurbished and Loreburn Primary relocated to the Academy's Minerva Hall building.

Councillors are being asked to approve a draft funding bid and authorise the authority's chief executive, Gavin Stevenson, to finalise the document and submit it to the Scottish government.