University denies Moray House for sale

UNIVERSITY bosses have again insisted there are no plans to close the Moray House teacher training college – and say it might even be expanded.

The Evening News reported on Monday how speculation was growing after education secretary Mike Russell stated in a parliamentary answer that he believed the university's estates strategy included plans to "dispose of its Moray House School campus".

The Scottish Government backtracked this week and admitted that there was no "proposed sale" and that the parliamentary answer was incorrect.

An Edinburgh University spokesman said it remained "fully committed" to both undergraduate and postgraduate education teaching courses at Moray House.

He added: "It is the case that in its current estates strategy for 2005-2015, the university has identified property at Holyrood/Pleasance which is surplus to requirements of core academic business.

"However, it is also the case that we are seeking to maximise space for expansion on the rest of the site. In line with normal procedures, we are in the process of updating our estates strategy to cover the period 2010-2020 and this position will be reviewed as part of the process."