Senior council officers have offered “reassurance” on plans for a new Thorn Primary School in Johnstone after it missed out on Scottish Government funding.

Renfrewshire Council hoped to land £10 million from the learning estate investment programme (LEIP) towards a replacement building but found out its bid was unsuccessful at the end of October.

The local authority, which secured LEIP funding for the new Paisley Grammar School in a previous phase, has been reviewing its options for Thorn Primary in the months since.

Councillor Iain McMillan, Labour group leader and representative for Johnstone South and Elderslie, raised the issue at Thursday’s education and children’s services policy board.

He said: “Has there been any progress on that? Obviously we didn’t manage to secure the funding for that particular school, so it was just to see if there’s been any progress on it?”

Julie Calder, the council’s head of education, responded: “Just to provide reassurance to the board that we are looking at options at the moment, given that we haven’t secured that funding.

“We will look at how we can progress and how we progress, so we can bring a paper back to the board once we’ve gone through that piece of work.”

Councillor McMillan then asked for a timescale on that particular work. It was confirmed further information would be brought to the next board on Thursday, March 14.

He said: “I don’t want to put you under too much pressure but it’s talk of the steamie in Johnstone, what’s happening with Thorn Primary School, so it would be good to have some indication of timing.”

Ms Calder responded: “I appreciate that, Councillor McMillan. Apologies, I probably should have said that.

“We are almost at the conclusion of that, so others will bring that back to the board in March.”

Building a new Thorn Primary has been considered a priority for the SNP administration in recent years.

However, the local authority said it was “very disappointed” to miss out in the third phase of LEIP funding in October and it would be seeking feedback.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said at the time: “This third phase supports a priority project in those local authorities who have not yet benefited from LEIP and, therefore, treats all councils fairly and equitably.

“Renfrewshire Council has already received financial support from phase two of LEIP to support a new Paisley Grammar community campus.”