Iceland windfall could speed up glacial movement on high school

A court judgment in Iceland could mean a capital windfall for Northumberland County Council. Alnwick’s County Councillor, Gordon Castle, is making the case for any money returned to the council to be allocated to a rebuild of Duchess’ High School. Last week the Iceland Supreme Court ruled that deposits of UK local authorities in a collapsed Icelandic bank would be given priority status, meaning that authorities will have their reimbursements fast-tracked.
 
Councillor Castle said, “The ruling in Iceland makes it much more likely that Northumberland County Council will be reimbursed for the money it lost in Iceland during the early days of the financial crisis. This money would be returned as capital and would expand the council’s capacity to invest in infrastructure projects.
 
I want to lay down a marker early on, to say that any capital returned from Iceland should be ring fenced for a rebuild of our high school. The Lib Dems have already committed to build a new leisure centre in Ashington, so any new funds must be committed to our local school.” Councillor Castle raised the matter formally at the last full meeting of the council and was advised by the executive that the council could not commit funds until it was sure of receiving them.