AN EDINBURGH firm has been awarded a £250,000 contract to help deliver two Borders schools.

Turner & Townsend will play a “technical advisor role” on the Peebles High and Galashiels Community Campus projects.

The firm – which has previously worked with Scottish Borders Council (SBC) on a number of initiatives – was the only bidder, according to a notice published on Public Contracts Scotland.

The quarter of a million pound contract will see Turner & Townsend offer “project and cost management support” to the school schemes.

Last month, SBC announced BAM Construction Ltd will be responsible for building the “state-of-the-art” facility in Peebles.

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The school will replace the previous campus which was severely damaged by a fire in November 2019.

Morrison Construction has been appointed to deliver the new Galashiels Academy building.

Planning applications for both sites are due to be submitted this year.

A period of further design development for the projects will then follow with construction works anticipated to start in late 2022.

Back in 2017, Turner & Townsend benefitted from contracts totalling around £1.3 million for the development of the Great Tapestry Centre in Galashiels.

Recently, the firm was again the sole bidder for a £700,000 agreement for “project and cost management services for Earlston Primary School stages 3-7”.

The latest contract confirmation follows a string of feasibility study announcements from the local authority last week.

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Turner & Townsend was again successful in a bid for a £55,000 contract to manage the consultancy team delivering a feasibility study on electric vehicle charging in the Borders. There were two tenders received.

SBC announced that engineering firm Mott MacDonald has been appointed master planning consultant in a contract worth £85,000.

An SBC spokesperson said: “Funding has been secured from the UK Community Renewal Fund to develop and deliver a feasibility study on EV charging across the Borders. The approach to EV charging has been fragmented and delivered through the local authority, forward thinking businesses and individuals utilising government funding to stimulate small pockets of EV vehicle use across the region.

“This project is looking to undertake a region wide, cross-sector assessment of supply, demand and commercial opportunities to create a strategic delivery model for EV charging infrastructure.

“This feasibility study will provide direct strategic support to all sectors across the region, which will lead on to maximising the commercial opportunities for the region and minimising the expenditure for the public sector, business and residents.”

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The spokesperson added: “With the clear commitments to deliver net zero there are a number of key targets to hit over the coming 24 years. This will require a significant change in local authority, business and citizens travel habits and adoption of sustainable travel options like EV vehicles.

“To enable this to be a reality, the Scottish Borders is starting from a very low level of provision and has to undertake a comprehensive review of how demand will develop across the region, how the electricity grid can cater for the demand and the commercial models available to deliver the infrastructure equitably across the region. To deliver net zero across the region we need an overarching strategic feasibility study that provides real opportunity for the region to deliver change, tangible benefits and maximise the private sector opportunities for the region.”

A £105,000 contract was also awarded by SBC last week “to undertake a feasibility study to support net zero across the region and build the network of active travel infrastructure to support rural accessibility”.

It was won by Edinburgh-based Atkins, the sole bidders.