Ebrington head confident scheme will survive budget cuts

The Waterside principal is one of a number of school heads presiding over a building project that could be affected by a DE capital budget down 84million on last year.

Education Minister Caitrona Ruane has warned of tough decisions on which new school projects receive funding in 2010/11.

Uncertainty over which projects would be given the go ahead was compounded by the Minister's refusal yesterday to say where the knife would fall.

But speaking to the Sentinel as it went to press on Tuesday Mr Dougherty remained upbeat about Ebrington's future.

He said he was confident the high profile re-location of Foyle and Londonderry College to the Waterside, married to the much-needed replacement of the existing 50-year-old Ebrington sschool was "too important a project for the city" to jettison at this stage.

"I didn't think the Minister would come out and name the schools today," said Mr Dougherty. "It would have been unfair to send parents, pupils and staff off into the summer holidays with a sense of disappointment."

He added: "First of all - we need a new school. Ebrington Primary School is fifty years old and it's beginning to show."

He said he expected letters would now be forwarded to each school with a capital scheme pending but promised work on the new Ebrington would continue unabated in the interim.

"It was business as usual today," he said. "I've been working with the architect and the design team all morning.

"We are confident that the Foyle and Ebrington co-location project is such a high profile project, one that is of such importance to the city that it will get the go ahead. I mean, 14m has already been spent on the site. I'm confident we'll be one of the survivors."

A spokesperson for Foyle and Londonderry College told the Sentinel they have received no further information about the capital budget and how it will affect the re-location bid.

A number of other school projects in Londonderry are also listed as part of the DE's current capital programme including Lisnagelvin PS (5.5m), St Cecilia's College (19.8m) and St Mary's College (19.8m) though these have largely been completed.

Pending school builds in Londonderry listed in DE's Investment Delivery Plan (IDP) include Ebrington Primary School, Belmont Special School, Eglinton Primary School, Newbuildings Primary School and Foyle and Londonderry College.

Work at St Cecilia's and St Mary's continues, benefitting from a share of an investment by DE of over 252m, which will require funding from the capital budget for 2010/11.

The department has stated that approval to proceed to construction will only be given for projects once the appraisal and planning stages have been successfully completed and where the project can be afforded within the resource available.

The Education Minister told the Assembly yesterday she has made decisions on which of 69 schools province-wide are to get the go ahead for new buildings but was attacked by DUP MLA Mervyn Storey who said she should have named successful schemes.