1 year ago
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Dargavel Primary is astatine the bosom of a newbuild improvement with much than 4,000 homes planned
By Andrew Picken
BBC Scotland News
A assembly which miscalculated the fig of places needed for pupils astatine a caller schoolhouse has been branded "grossly incompetent".
An autarkic reappraisal has delivered a withering verdict connected Renfrewshire Council's handling of an mistake which near Dargavel colony abbreviated of up to 1,000 superior schoolhouse places.
The study ruled the section authority's readying was "woefully inadequate".
The assembly has said it is "deeply atrocious for the precise superior mistakes".
Dargavel Primary successful Bishopton, Renfrewshire, opened past twelvemonth with a capableness of 548.
Renfrewshire Council past admitted "significant errors" had been made with its forecasts and betwixt 1,100 and 1,500 superior schoolhouse property places would present beryllium needed successful the country implicit the adjacent decade.
And present an autarkic reappraisal has levied a bid of disapproval astatine the council. This includes:
- A 60% summation successful lodging astatine the tract from the archetypal program was to beryllium served by lone a 30% summation successful "already woefully inadequate" planned fig of superior schoolhouse places.
- That assembly officials displayed arrogance and approached negotiations and appraisal of the interaction of the improvement successful an "amateur manner".
- Contribution deals for the caller schoolhouse struck with developer BAE Systems were truthful "grossly inadequate" that arsenic the lodging improvement expanded, BAE's payments to acquisition per kid reduced.
- Numerous morganatic concerns expressed by the section groups, immoderate going backmost implicit a decade, "were brushed aside, and not subjected to adjacent cursory examination".
The Renfrewshire Council reappraisal led by autarkic advisor David Bowles recommends section schoolhouse catchment areas are reconsidered and the council's pupil forecast exemplary continues to beryllium revised.
Local genitor Alan Kelly says the study highlights "unimaginable failings wrong Renfrewshire Council"
Local genitor Alan Kelly, a erstwhile president of the school's genitor council, said: "The study uses the connection incompetent much than erstwhile and it notes that galore morganatic concerns expressed by parents were brushed aside.
"Disappointingly it doesn't interaction connected failures since October, 2022, and doesn't see the roles of the existent assembly enactment team.
"The assembly person again fto america down - inactive nary onshore for the caller school, inactive nary plan, thing successful place."
'Deeply sorry'
Renfrewshire Council is successful talks with with landowners BAE astir securing a tract for a caller superior schoolhouse successful Dargavel, susceptible of accommodating 800 pupils, which would outgo up to £45m.
In addition, an enlargement of Park Mains High School successful Erskine, to accommodate 400 other pupils, would besides beryllium required and this has an estimated outgo of up to £30m.
The council's main enforcement Alan Russell said helium was "deeply atrocious for the precise superior historical mistakes made implicit a prolonged period" and the "understandable distress caused to section communities successful the area.".
He added: "This is simply a precise hard study for the assembly and volition beryllium arsenic upsetting for the Dargavel community.
"I afloat admit the reappraisal findings and judge each its recommendations.
"Detailed enactment is progressing astatine gait to summation pupil capableness and to amended our processes and procedures."
A BAE Systems spokesperson said: "Whilst we've fulfilled our readying obligations for superior acquisition by delivering a caller schoolhouse successful 2021 and providing onshore for a nursery, we proceed to enactment proactively with Renfrewshire Council, implicit and supra these obligations, to enactment its revised strategy for section superior acquisition provision."We recognise the value of this contented for the residents of Dargavel colony and person identified imaginable areas of the improvement to Renfrewshire Council which could beryllium utilized to present its further superior acquisition requirements."
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