Old St Columba's and Woodmill high schools to be flattened

BAM Construction will begin taking down the buildings at Woodmill before work gets underway at the old St Columba's on November 4.

They're no longer needed now that the Dunfermline Learning Campus has opened and Fife Council want to move quickly to prevent the vacant buildings becoming a "magnet" for anti-social behaviour and fire-raising.

Work to demolish the old Woodmill High School will start this month. (Image: Newsquest) The sites, on either side of Woodmill Road, will then be sold for housing.

Both schools will be taken down piece by piece with demolition at Woodmill set to be completed by February 7 next year with the St Columba's site to be cleared by February 28.

Head of the council's property services team, Alan Paul, previously explained: "Early demolition of these buildings is important to stop the risk of them becoming targets for vandalism and eyesores for the local community.

"A cleared site, ready for development is also more attractive to any potential investors so we'll be aiming to get these buildings down as quickly as possible."

Before demolition begins, work to identify and remove asbestos will be completed.

The modular buildings at Woodmill, which were needed after a major fire ripped through the school in August 2019, are being removed for re-use at Balwearie High School in Kirkcaldy and Castlehill Primary School in Cupar.

And they'll start knocking down the former St Columba's High School next month. (Image: Newsquest) Hopes that the 33 acres could be used for a new sports and leisure centre, including a swimming pool to replace the one lost when Woodmill closed, were dashed when the council confirmed in August that the land will be sold for housing.

The astroturf hockey pitch at the school, which was used up until last weekend, will also go as the local authority said they had "no plans" to retain it.

It's not clear if it will be re-located elsewhere.

At last week's area committee meeting it was highlighted that a report by council officers on the loss of the schools and the economic impact on Abbeyview, requested by Dunfermline councillors some time ago, has still not been produced.