The West End Parents Committee would like to congratulate Dundee City Council on its successful application for Harris Academy to be included in the first tranche of funding from the Scottish Futures Trust and will receive two-thirds of the funding required for refurbishment.
However, we seek assurance that the city council will not redirect funds from primary and nursery schools projects to the secondary school estate. Under the terms of SFT funding, local councils need to pay for the remaining one-third of the required funds (rumoured to be at least £8m). Cllr Laurie Bidwell has asked on his website whether "other planned capital improvements may have to be delayed to make way for the refurbishment of Harris Academy" and if the planned projects in Whitfield, the West End and Lochee may "all need to go back down the queue".
The city council has identified a need to improve primary and nursery schools in these areas and has been given approval by Dundee councillors to invest £20m in the West End and Lochee projects. The projects are currently awaiting a decision from Fiona Hyslop MSP regarding the council's application for permission to dispense with the School Premises (Scotland) Regulations, which govern the minimum site areas and provision of playing fields.
If Scottish Ministers give their approval, the city council will be given special permission to proceed with the projects; if Scottish Ministers reject the application, then the council should make new proposals that comply with the regulations.
We sincerely hope that they will maintain their promise to the primary and nursery schools, particularly given that their own Asset Management Plan for 2008 identified St Joseph's Primary School as being in the most urgent need to improve its physical condition, since it was classed as Poor (rating 2) under the council's Condition, Suitability and Sufficiency criteria, whereas Park Place Primary and Nursery, as well as Harris Academy, were all classed as being in Satisfactory Condition (rating 3).
