WATCH: What's going wrong with Wick Campus?
New Wick school to open end of February...if we're lucky
Last updated 23rd Jan 2018
Questions are being asked about who's to blame for holding up Wick pupils' move to their brand new school, which should have opened last October.
Wick Campus has been plagued by delays including concerns about the safety of the roof, and currently there's no water or electricity on-site.
Bill Fernie is Highland Council's budget leader. He told MFR News: "Part of the problem lies in the fact that we are so far north. The contractors say they've had problems with that.
"Currently there are some issues with water and electricity. These problems will have to be sorted out.
"Certainly the council will not take the building until it's fully completed. If it's been rushed at the end, we don't want to take something that will cause problems once the pupils actually get into the school.
"There was one particular issue with a beam near the main entrance. The load-bearing capacity hadn't been calculated properly, and it was twisting, so they had to remove that beam and replace it, and that was done a few months ago. They had to lift the roof and lower it again. Our officials were quite concerned that the roof may not have been put back properly, and the angles might not be...but I believe that's all been checked out now, and it will be put right before the pupils go into the school."
Morrison Construction's already over-budget development may even miss the rescheduled February 27th opening. That's after missing the October deadline, and the rescheduled January date slipping into next month.