£517k spent on city school’sconsultants

Upwards of one million pounds were spent on a total of eight yet-to-be-completed North West schools projects up until March 31, 2011, the Education Minister John O’Dowd revealed on Friday.

The Minister advised that the largest expenditure was for the new proposed Foyle and Londonderry co-location project with Ebrington Primary School.

A total of £417,000 was spent on professional fees for Foyle and Londonderry and a total of £100,000 was spent on Ebrington.

Other North West projects included Ballykelly Primary School (£169,000); Eglinton Primary School (£148,000); Artigarvan Primary School (£112,000); Newbuildings Primary School (£92,000); Limegrove/Glasvey Primary School (£6,000); and Belmont Special School (£3,000). The total expenditure for all eight outstanding projects was £1,047,000.

The Minister outlined the information in response to an Assembly Question tabled by SDLP MLA John Dallat.

The figures refer to the professional fees, including consultants and architects, for new builds for schools which have been planned but not yet built.

The information provided covers all professional costs incurred since the commencement of planning up to 31 March 2011.