Aberdeenshire Council has agreed to provide £71 million for a new community campus in Peterhead as part of a capital plan which will see £860m of investment across the region over the next 15 years.

The community campus would include a secondary school, primary schools and leisure facilities.

A location for the new “super school” facility is yet to be decided, but after agreeing the local authority’s budget for 2018/19, leader of the Aberdeenshire council, Jim Gifford, said the “process starts today”.

Officers will now begin a business case for the project which has been scheduled for completion between 2023 and 2028.

The capital plan outlines £860m of investment spending across a 15-year period and also includes a £6m spend on the Hill of Banchory sports centre and £51m on the new Inverurie community campus.

It will be financed by Scottish Government grant funding, borrowing and sales of property.