More confusion over DCC plans for Victoria Park

This week's press has highlighted a number of worrying concerns raised by local councillors, as well as further confusing statements from the city council. To set the scene, the School Premises (General Standards and Requirements) (Scotland) Regulations 1967, and amended, state:

8(1) Every primary school shall have available and in close proximity to it playing fields not less than the area specified in Table IV according to the number of pupils for which the school is designed except where the provisions of regulation 8(4) apply.

Depending on the extent to which playing fields are shared between the two schools, Table IV indicates that the West End Schools proposal requires between 4000-6000 square metres (1-1.5 acres) dedicated for playing fields.

We have learned from Freedom of Information requests that the Director of Education wrote to Schools Division of Scottish Government in April and May 2009 as follows:

"With regard to the matter of playing fields, we are committed to providing facilities at this site for outdoor education."

"It will not have a playing field, although there will be one in close proximity."

Also, the Convener of Education stated on STV in May 2009:

"..there is no absolute need for them, for us to provide them with a playing field as part of the facilities of the school"

The Scottish Government decision notice, available from their website, grants dispensation to DCC for the size of site being less than that required by regulation 7, and states:

5.6 The provision of a hall, gymnasium and outdoor play area, along with the proposal for both schools to be able to use the nearby Victoria Park for outdoor activities and games, offer good potential for each school to ensure that all children receive the appropriate allocation of time for good quality physical education. As yet the council has not formally dedicated any space in the park for use by the schools, nor indicated what, if any, games pitches might be laid out for their sole or shared use. The draft plans for the proposed shared campus include the possibility of a small shared all-weather area which could be used for games and other outdoor activities. It is not clear at the moment whether or not this pitch will actually be built if the proposal goes ahead.

6.2 HMIE recommends that the council be asked to clarify its proposals for use of Victoria Park by giving a commitment to how it would dedicate part of the park for use of the two primary schools and a firmer indication of what pitches or sports areas might be laid out for their use at various times of the year.

Note the need for "appropriate allocation of time for good quality physical education" rather than occasional use of a public park, which any school at any time is fully entitled to do, in addition to its playing fields. Also, the city council is asked to give "a commitment to how it would dedicate part of the park" (emphasis added).

Now, read on and let us know if you can make sense of the council's plans ...

1. Plans for £10m shared campus get green light (The Courier, 11 Dec 2009)

The council said it will be "addressing" the Victoria Park issue - a draft proposal includes the possibility of a small, shared all-weather but no space has been dedicated in the park for schools use.

2. £10m schools plan to be discussed (Evening Telegraph, 11 Dec 2009)

The joint campus is expected to be three storeys high and include playing fields at Victoria Park for use by both schools.

3. Row over plans to use Victoria Park (The Courier, 12 Dec 2009)

... elected members, parents and teachers were not consulted about plans to use Victoria Park as playing fields for schools use. It was also claimed last night that PE sessions in the park could "change the nature" of a popular west end green space.

... Ministers were told that Victoria Park could be used for playing fields, perhaps with an all-weather surface installed, but Councillor Bidwell said a "detailed proposal" was not previously shared.

... a claim which Councillor Fordyce denied last night. "I can't say off the top of my head when it was first raised," she said. "It wasn't just tagged on at the end - it was raised."

4. City official not consulted on plan for Victoria Park (The Courier, 14 Dec 2009)

Director of leisure and communities Stewart Murdoch was not aware that education bosses had told ministers the park could be used for playing fields, perhaps with an all-weather surface installed.

... The plan, in particular the Victoria Park proposal, has caused much controversy locally and last night Mr McCready said it must be examined "in great detail" before being rubber-stamped.

... "Victoria Park is popular with local people in the west end and is well used," Mr McCready added. "Using it exclusively for educational purposes may impact on local people's use of the park and I want to be sure that their views are taken on board as well as the views of the education stakeholders."

5. School's park plan will not mean fence (The Courier, 15 Dec 2009)

Dundee City Council has stepped in to try to reassure west end residents that parts of Victoria Park are not to be fenced off for the exclusive use of pupils. The park has become central to the row over future primary school provision in the area.

... Attempting to answer the criticism, the council pointed to other schools in the city that use public parks and said there would also be outside space available on the shared campus itself.

"There will be playground areas, including a grassed area, located within the proposed shared campus," a council spokesman said.

"There is also the possibility of including an all-weather area in the draft plans for the former Harris Academy annexe site.

... the spokesman added, "The use of Victoria Park for sporting activity will form part of our plans but it is not our intention to erect any fencing around a dedicated area or to construct an all-weather surface at the park."

6. Worries over Victoria Park (Evening Telegraph, 15 Dec 2009)

Doubts have been expressed about the use of Victoria Park for playing fields, and west end councillor Fraser Macpherson revealed today many west end residents had contacted him with concerns.

One Blackness Road resident had written, "I find it unbelievable that a decision such as this appears to have been made with no public consultation. The park has been in use as open public space for over 100 years and a change of use of even part of it would be seriously detrimental to its use and to the west end as a whole. I would like to know why this is the only option being looked at, and what other options are available."

7. Concern at St Joseph's proposal (Letters, Evening Telegraph, 15 Dec 2009)

I feel the new school, with its wifi, and hopefully no leaks, is a double blow to the many St Joseph’s pupils who live in the west end tenements, as not only will they be robbed of the vital opportunity to explore the outdoors while at school, those whose parents take them to play at Victoria Park will have their space to play constrained as sections will be cordoned off for the new school’s facilities.

8. Council pressed on park proposal (The Courier, 16 Dec 2009)

The city council has pointed out that other city schools use public parks, and also said there would be outside space on the shared campus itself.

... (Councillor) McCready pointed out that the school inspectors' report issued last week talked about there being a "dedicated" part of the park for the schools to use.

9. Victoria Park talk "most unhelpful" (Evening Telegraph, 16 Dec 2009)

West End SNP Councillor Jim Barrie spoke out over "rumours" associated with the proposal after talks with the director and convener of education.

... Councillor Barrie said, "It is important the public are aware and assured there will be no area 'cordoned off' for dedicated school use and full access for members of the public will continue."

... Mr Barrie said, "... I remember as a five-year-old pupil the excitement of the rare visits to Victoria Park for summer sports day, and being introduced to the many varieties of trees in Balgay Park. That is what Balgay Park is there for, and the occasional use of its facilities should be encouraged. I am sure the regular users of the park would love to see more children playing, not only in Victoria Park, but exploring the trails up Balgay Hill and visiting the Observatory."

10. Don't despoil Victoria Park (Letters, The Courier, 18 Dec 2009)

The Friends of Balgay heard a brief hint of this plan a few weeks ago and immediately protested.

Victoria Park is very well used by families and young people who gather together there, picnic when the weather is fine and enjoy the friendly atmosphere.

If football is played there, the ground will be churned up and lying on the grass will no longer be comfortable or even possible.

... To get to Victoria Park from the planned school site, children would have to walk quite a distance up Blackness Road, negotiate what is quite a dangerous crossroads and make their way round the flower beds. It would seem that a simpler solution would be to bus the children to Lochee Park and allow them to use the facilities available there.

11. Pledge to consult Victoria Park users (Evening Telegraph, 18 Dec 2009)

In an email to Cllr MacPherson, Mr Collins pointed out that new regulations now give easier opportunity for anyone who wishes to make comment on a planning issue and emphasised no major takeover of any of the park space is envisaged.

He added there are “no proposals to erect fences and the statement I have read in the Press about a possible all-weather facility is quite simply wrong — no such facility is proposed.

12. Victoria Park concerns - feedback from the Director of Education (Councillor Fraser Macpherson's blog, www.dundeewestend.com, 18 Dec 2009)

... the City Council's Director of Education has responded to me about the department's proposals for use of Victoria Park by the schools on the proposed shared campus on the former Logie Secondary School site as follows :

"I want to emphasise that no major take over of any of the park space is envisaged. Primary schools in Dundee who do not have dedicated playing fields occasionally make use of park space for events such as sports days and football matches, but their use tends to be rare. I do not envisage the new West End campus requiring anything more frequent in Victoria Park."

If you can decipher the council's plans and align these with the Scottish Government and HMIe decision notice, please leave a comment and help us understand.

Council U-turn - press release 17 August 2009

Dundee City Council issued the following press release yesterday (17 August 2009). The Evening Telegraph published an article about this on p7 titled "School sites choice check":

SITES FOR NEW SCHOOLS

Dundee City Council is to meet with Scottish Government officials to finalise arrangements over the proposed sites for the new Lochee and West End primary schools, so that the near £20 million investment can proceed.

The city council believes that its plans represent the best possible options to improve educational facilities for primary pupils in the two areas, but it wants to ensure that there are no doubts remaining over the status of the sites under School Premises regulations.

Dundee City Council is to confirm if dispensation is required from the Scottish Government so that the projects can go ahead. The regulations were issued at a time when shared sites were not being actively pursued by local authorities. Since the regulations were issued a number of shared sites have been developed in Scotland.

A number of parents have raised questions around the regulations and it is hoped that once these have been clarified everyone can then concentrate on the development of the new schools.

The design process for the four new schools has now started. The new schools are intended to replace the current Lochee/Charleston and St Clement's primaries, along with new facilities for Park Place Primary and nursery and St Joseph's Primary.

A Dundee City Council education department spokesman said: "Since the original reports were unanimously approved by the education committee in January, extensive consultation followed and the committee then agreed to move forward with the plans.

"The committee also passed a report to create of a series of project boards that would develop the proposals for the new schools with input from as wide a range of the relevant people as possible.

"Now, as this process gets underway, the city council is looking to ensure that the situation on the size of the sites is clarified at a national level.

"Dundee contains only a limited number of available spaces where schools could be located."

"We have tried to ensure that the sites are relevant to population trends and would give us the best value for education for many years into the future.

"The investment of nearly £20 million in these new buildings would represent a significant improvement in educational facilities for many generations to come.

"To this end, we have been in correspondence with Scottish Government officials and are now looking to meet with representatives over these issues."

Outcome of Education Committee Meeting 11 May 2009

Last night, the Education Committee of Dundee City Council approved the proposal to build new schools on the Logie site and relocate St Joseph's Primary, Park Place Primary and Park Place Nursery schools to that site.

Actually, they voted on this proposal in January 2009 and last night was simply a confirmation of this following public consultation and the Director of Education's report (274-2009) on the outcome of the consultation exercise.

They listened to our deputation and that of the St Joseph's Parent Council, but they didn't ask any questions, so they must have agreed with the speakers, and still they approved the proposal.

Plus ça change.

We issued statements to The Courier and Radio Tay. The Evening Telegraph has expanded (and misinterpreted) the words in our statement, the BBC website asked for a statement for a story they were running, and we've been interviewed and broadcast on GMTV and STV.

We are committed to working to ensure that the Director of Education keeps to his promise to cap the pupil intake for the new schools at 450 (combined) and to ensure that the Council delivers genuine improvements to the schools estate for the West End.

Press coverage and access to our document

The Evening Telegraph has published articles in recent days covering the Council's proposal to build new schools on the Logie site and has today printed a letter from Will K. Laing.

The original article from 31 Mar doesn't appear to be online but our response is here:

http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/output/2009/04/01/story12868751t0.shtm

They have also printed a letter from Will K. Laing in favour of the proposal as it stands:

http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/output/2009/04/02/letters.shtm

Note: if you know anyone who is interested in reading the document but doesn't have internet access and did not collect one of the handouts, perhaps you could print a copy for them or direct them to a public library?

Article in the Evening Telegraph 31 March 2009

The Dundee Evening Telegraph has published an article in yesterday's edition (31 March 2009, p10) with quotes from the website and comment from representatives of Dundee City Council, the Bishop of Dunkeld and Councillor Fraser Macpherson.

The West End Parents group did not contact the Evening Telegraph to request this publication.

Whilst we acknowledge the additional publicity this article generates, it would appear that our aims may have been misunderstood. The article states:

1. "Parents opposed to a new shared primary school campus in Dundee's West End..."

• The West End Parents are not opposed to a new school, nor to a shared campus: we simply have some serious concerns about the size and suitability of the proposed site for bring two primary and one nursery school together.

2. "Claimed that sex offenders and drug addicts could pose a danger to pupils"

• Nowhere on the website do we make this claim. The statement, as written by the Tele, is self-evident but our Questions and Concerns document does not make any "danger claims", we are simply asking the Council to check whether sex offenders and drug addicts are in the vicinity of the proposed site. This is not intended to be scaremongering: the question was posed to the Director of Education at one of the consultation meetings and he has promised to investigate this with the Police.

3. "No evidence has been produced in support of these allegations"

• No allegations have been made. We have only posed the question, asking for information regarding the truth from the Council. Our sources have asked to remain anonymous (for obvious reasons) and we have asked the Council to check. Time is running out for the consultation process and we felt there was no alternative choice but to include these questions on the public website. If the claims are untrue, please let us know. What do local residents think?

4. "The website states, 'The proposed site is overlooked by tenement housing'"

• Yes, this is a fact. However, we did not intend this to be social commentary on the type of residents of tenement housing. Many of us, like the concerned commenter last night, live or have lived in tenement housing. The point is there are multiple residences overlooking the play areas of the new site. The current site for St Joseph's does not have this concern and Park Place is only partially overlooked.

5. "...does not meet minimum statutory requirements, and questions the availability of nearby playing fields...clearly too small and would deny [the children] the space to which they are entitled according to Scottish Government regulations."

• Please, please read the cited references and make up your own mind. If there are other relevant documents, please provide citations for these in the related blog post. We have made these claims based on the regulations that we have identified, either within the group or following discussion with the appropriate Council or Government body.
• When asked about this at consultation meetings, the Director of Education responded that there are "special privileges" that can be dispensed by the Government for sites such as this in an "inner site environment".
• The School Premises Regulations (Scotland) 1967 as amended in 1973 and 79 do indeed include clauses such as 7(6):

Where the Secretary of State is satisfied that it is impracticable or would be unreasonable to apply the standards prescribed in this regulation to a particular school building. the area of the site for that school building shall be such as may be approved.

• However, is this what we aspire to for the children in a new build?

6. "Bishop open to discussions"

• Our Questions and Concerns document is not a religious document. While we anticipate that some parents from St Joseph's school and parishioners from the adjacent church may have concerns in regard to the proposals, we represent the views of a group that have questions and concerns about the size and suitability of the new site.

7. "The Diocese is aware school rolls are shrinking..."

• This is untrue in the case of Park Place Primary, Park Place Nursery and St Joseph's Primary schools: the Council's roll projections (section 4.3) indicate anticipated growth - 436 pupils for 2008/09, 445 for 2011/12.
• At consultation meetings, the Director of Education also stated that there is an expectation that rolls for Park Place Nursery will rise by 20-40 places.

8. "Parents...are being urged to write to the council's project director Gillian Ross Pond by the start of next week"

• Yes, please do make your views known to the Council, but only after you have been able to make an informed decision. If you have any questions, contribute to the discussion on this website, or call Ms Ross Pond on 01382 435161.